The Carolina Panthers may release defensive end Greg Hardy after the public outcry following his arrest and conviction for domestic violence and assault on his girlfriend from earlier this year and it follows calls from the public about what happened with Ray Rice and also people trying to prod owner Jerry Richardson to make a move despite the fact that he has an appeal pending on his case.

Wow talk about timing: UPDATE: Pro Football Talk reports Panthers not cutting Greg Hardy today.

According to Pro Football Talk, Hardy was excused from practice yesterday after having to meet with his lawyer and now other experts say that Hardy could be released as soon as today. Hardy is accused of some horrific acts, including throwing his then girlfriend into the floor of his bathroom, threatening to kill her and also throwing her onto a couch full of automatic weapons. Hard was convicted of assault of his ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder, but he appealed for a jury trial and now he is waiting for that to happen.

The Panthers can take action on their own, but so far they have not done that and Hardy has claimed through his lawyer that the "truth" will come out about the case. Ron Rivera and Richardson have been citing the legal process playing out as why they have not taken action, but now with the Ray Rice situation and the NFL in hot water, they may have no choice but to get it done and release him.

Hardy had a fantastic season last year and signed a one year $13 million deal and he is coming off of a year with 15 sacks. Hardy has had double digit sacks in each of the past two seasons and this year he has one sack and three solo tackles. Hardy returned to practice after meeting with his lawyer and now the Charlotte Observer, the local paper, has written an op-ed about the Panthers and they say they should suspend him and now that could be the next move along with his potential release.

The Panthers are in a tough situation and so is the NFL and now Hardy could be the next player to go after what happened with Ray Rice. The NFL has been indifferent at best about this whole issue and the long piece on ESPN and SportsCenter about the Hardy case has also had social media going crazy about the case. Hardy is accused of and was convicted of some horrible acts and while he has the right to appeal, NOTHING is stopping the Panthers from taking action and they could do that this week by deactivating or releasing him.