No decision on Greg Hardy yet

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers have not decided whether defensive end Greg Hardy will be active for Sunday night's prime-time game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Bank of America Stadium.

Coach Ron Rivera said general manager Dave Gettleman and others are doing their "due diligence" on what the team's options are. He said there are no plans to release Hardy, who on July 15 was found guilty by a Mecklenburg County judge of assaulting and threatening ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder.

Rivera said Hardy would practice this week.

"Greg's with the team,'' Rivera said. "We're in a situation where we're going to go through this week and evaluate the circumstances and situation. In light of a lot of things that have happened, we're going to continue to gather information.

"This is a fluid situation, and we'll see what happens.''

Hardy was placed on the inactive list for Sunday's 24-7 victory over Detroit after Rivera said as late as Friday afternoon he would start. Rivera said the decision was made because the climate around the league had changed.

Vikings running backAdrian Petersonwas deactivated on Friday after he was indicted for "child injury.'' Last Monday, the Ravens released running back Ray Rice after videos were releasedshowing him knocking out then-fiance Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City casino elevator in February. Rice also was placed on indefinite suspension by the NFL, which initially suspended him for two games.

Rivera added the decision to deactivate Hardy also was made because it would have been a distraction to play the 2013 Pro Bowl selection under the scrutiny the team and league was under concerning domestic violence.

Rivera is still worried about it being a distraction.

"Without a doubt,'' he said. "I am concerned about it because it becomes a distraction. That's part of why I made the decision. If you play him and you win, then you don't have a conscience. If you play him and you lose, then he's a distraction.

"So the decision was made in the best interest of this organization.''

Rivera said Hardy understood the situation when he talked to him. He said Hardy did not stay at the stadium for the game.

"I allowed Greg to leave if he wanted to,'' Rivera said. "He understood. I said, 'Greg, are you OK with this?' He said, 'Coach, I understand.' That was the end of the conversation he and I had.

"Then I asked him, 'If you like, Greg, if you want to go home, I understand.' I also said to him, 'Just make sure you're here on Monday on time,' and he was on time in the meeting.''

Rivera said it was important for the team to "get it right" in regards to moving forward. Asked whether the team got it right the first time when it didn't discipline Hardy after he was charged in May, Rivera said, "I don't know. What is right? We do the best we can. Nobody is infallible. We all make mistakes. We all correct those mistakes and we try to go forward.

"We try to make sure we understand this is an issue that has to be correct and we have to get this issue correct. We've got to do the right thing, and we're trying to do the right things.''

Hardy arrived at Bank of America Stadium at 12:25 p.m. on Monday. He walked past a handful of reporters, staring straight ahead without addressing questions.

Rivera said Sunday that the decision to deactivate Hardy was his decision in consultation with team owner Jerry Richardson and others. Rivera said Monday he hadn't had any direct communication with the league on the decision, but did admit others were involved.

"What matters is getting it right,'' Rivera said. "As I said [Sunday], this is a very difficult set of circumstances and situations. There's a lot of people involved unfortunately. I've not had to go through this.

"As we make this decision, this decision is going to be made in the best interest of this organization going forward. These players, this is tough on a lot of people.''