By now you've undoubtedly heard about the on-field verbal altercation between new Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy and teammate Davon Coleman. Allegedly, Hardy questioned Coleman's effort during conditioning drills, Coleman responded by calling Hardy a "woman beater," and the two eventually had to be separated by teammates after things escalated from there. Depending on who you ask, the incident itself is either not a big deal at all or just the latest sign that Hardy is not fit to be in the NFL.
According to former NFL quarterback Brady Quinn, though, the bigger issue is that the incident became public. "It's never a good sign for a team when these sorts of stories become public -- and in this instance, how quickly they became public," Quinn wrote on his site, Football by Football. "Locker rooms have and always should be considered sacred ground for players. What is said and heard, stays there."
"That's not a good sign," he continued. "This is an example of how not to do locker room. Tempers flare. Things happen. But then they are over. Privately. Simple as that. 'Two people yelled at each other and one called the other a name' shouldn't be news coming out of an NFL locker room."
The Cowboys have championship aspirations this season -- Tony Romo recently ended a speech by stating "We're going to win a Super Bowl next year" -- and Quinn stated that in order to reach that goal, they'll have to make sure these types of locker room issues don't flare up again. "Every team faces some sort of internal challenge throughout the course of a season. What will determine the Cowboys' ability to win a Super Bowl will start with how they come together as a team. But the Cowboys need to rein in their horses with some proactive communication long before worrying about getting to Santa Clara, CA for Super Bowl 50."
