Panthers Star Greg Hardy DEACTIVATED Over Domestic Violence Conviction 
 
 Panthers Star Greg Hardy -- DEACTIVATED ... Over Domestic Violence Conviction 
 
 The Carolina Panthers have decided to DEACTIVATE superstar defensive endbecause of his domestic violence conviction -- a decision that was made by the team Sunday morning and it seems fairly obvious it's all because of thesituation.Back in July, a North Carolina judge found Hardy guilty of attacking his girlfriend and threatening her life during an altercation in May -- but the Panthers and the NFL decided not to punish Hardy while he appealed the decision and pursued a jury trial.Translation -- THEY SAT ON THEIR HANDS AND DID NOTHING FOR MONTHS.But now, in the wake of the Ray Rice scandal -- and a public outcry against the NFL for taking too light of a stance against domestic violence -- the Panthers have decided to deactivate Hardy for today's game.As for the incident, Hardy's ex had claimed he beat the living crap out of her and threatened to kill her during a jealous late-night rage.The woman had testified that Hardy got angry that night when he heard a Nelly song at a nightclub -- which angered him because the woman had briefly dated the rapper when she was on a break from Hardy.Story developing ...
– Greg Hardy is the Carolina Panthers' franchise player, a Pro Bowl defensive end who will make $13.1 million this season. He will also sit out today's home opener after the Panthers abruptly reversed course and deactivated him this morning, reports ESPN. The reason? Hardy was convicted in July of assaulting and threatening the life of an ex-girlfriend; he's currently appealing that conviction, and is likely to return to court in November. Both the NFL and the Panthers had opted not to punish Hardy while he appealed, notes TMZ, a decision that was reinforced by the Panthers' head coach as recently as Friday, when he confirmed that Hardy would start today. "We are in a process and we're letting the process play its way out," Ron Rivera said Friday. Hardy's deactivation occurs after the Ravens released Ray Rice and the Vikings deactivated Adrian Peterson.