Against a white brick wall in the bowels of Met Life Stadium late last month, Jerry Jones had proved again how far he was willing to go to keep the spotlight on his precious Cowboys, no matter the mockery and outrage that was sure to follow, no matter the cost to his credibility.
By signing defensive end Greg Hardy in March, Jones, the Cowboys' owner and general manager, had dared to defy the post-Ray Rice atmosphere of an NFL supposedly more sensitive to domestic violence. The league had suspended Hardy 10 games after a judge had found him guilty of assaulting and threatening his girlfriend, including throwing her on a bed covered with guns.