‘For the love of f***. I give the hell up’

IN-FIGHTING has erupted at ESPN over the program’s decision to give a disgraced star a “stage for a redemption tour”.

ESPN served as the platform for NFL star Greg Hardy’s half-hearted apology — and not all of its employees are thrilled with the decision.

Following his interview with the disgraced defensive end on Tuesday, analyst Adam Schefter revealed on the Dan Patrick Show that he believed Hardy to be a changed man after serving a four-game suspension for allegedly assaulting then-girlfriend Nicole Holder in 2014.

“I went in there with the idea that everybody had, that this guy’s a monster, OK? I went in there thinking that this is one of the scariest people in the NFL. And I came out there with a very different feeling about him,” Schefter said.

Fellow ESPN personality Michelle Beadle didn’t agree with Schefter’s opinion.

For the love of f&$@. Dude doesn't admit to wrongdoing. Dude has changed? I give the hell up.

— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) April 5, 2016

Hardy, who called himself an “innocent man” during the exchange, also questioned the authenticity of the photos Deadspin published last November of Holder’s bruises.

The Ravens’ Steve Smith slammed Hardy’s claims, and Beadle blasted the network for providing him an outlet.

“I feel dirty in that this guy has no job right now, and for some reason we’ve decided as a network that we’re going to give him the stage for his redemption tour as he basically goes out and tries to find some employment,” Beadle said on her own ESPN show, SportsNation.

“I don’t understand why we’re doing that. If he wants to figure out a way to get his message out there — which by the way, he hasn’t said he did anything wrong, so how a man is supposed to convince anybody he’s changed and yet not admit to actually doing anything? I have no idea.

“But why we’re giving him the forum to go out there and tell anybody, that is where I’m a little bit confused.”

The picture Deadspin published in November.

This isn’t the first time Beadle has taken aim at ESPN.

After Ray Rice received a two-game suspension for knocking out then-fiancée Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City elevator two years ago, she expressed disgust over colleague Stephen A. Smith’s comments suggesting women are sometimes responsible for domestic violence incidents.

“Violence isn’t the victim’s issue. It’s the abuser’s. To insinuate otherwise is irresponsible and disgusting,” she tweeted.

“I was in an abusive relationship once. I’m aware that men & women can both be the abuser. To spread a message that we not ‘provoke’ is wrong,” Beadle added.

Originally published as ‘For the love of f***. I give the hell up’