Panthers owner says it was his decision to let Greg Hardy walk

Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson said Monday that he was the one who made the call not to re-sign defensive end Greg Hardy.

"Whose call would you think that would be?'' Richardson told David Newton of ESPN.com at the NFL owners meetings. 

Asked why he made the decision, Richardson replied, "We do the right things.''​

These were Richardson's first comments about Hardy since September, when he broke down in tears while addressing what critics called a lenient stance on the defensive end. At the time, Hardy had been convicted of misdemeanor assault and communicating threats. 

Both charges were dismissed in February after prosecutors said they were unable to locate his accuser to testify.

Some Panthers players approached Richardson after Hardy's charges were dismissed and asked him to reconsider bringing their teammate back.

"I don't know how that went down with Mr. Richardson,'' cornerback Josh Norman told Newton. "I know as far as the Panthers, coach and the players, we definitely wanted him back.

"I know we wanted him back. We would have tried to do anything to get him back.''