For months I lobbied for league arbitrator Harold Henderson to reduce Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy’s suspension of 10 games down to two or less due to the fact that he was never found guilty in a court of law for domestic violence. There was also the fact that Hardy had already been suspended for the final 15 games of the 2014 season while these allegations were being investigated, so to punish him even more felt like he would be paying twice for the same infraction. But not once did I ever say that I thought he was innocent.

When Henderson finally came back with the decision to reduce his punishment to a four-game suspension versus that of 10, I thought it was the right move because it fell more in line with the personal conduct policy that was in place when he allegedly committed the crime. Whether you agree with the policy or not, the NFL really had no choice but to honor it as it was an agreed upon contract between them and the NFLPA.

In all likelihood, Hardy probably is guilty of domestic violence and that is why he presumably paid Nicole Holder off to keep her from testifying against him in court. But even if he was found guilty and was allowed to return to football after he served whatever punishment the courts handed down to him, would a 10-game suspension really have helped anyone? Would missing 10 games really change his behavior or his thoughts on how women should be treated?

Simply suspending a player who has been rewarded his entire life for being the most violent person on the field would just take away his only outlet for his aggression and could possibly lead to even more problems in his personal life. While suspensions are a good start, the NFL is in desperate need to come up with some sort of proactive strategy to help these athletes separate their professional lives from their lives off the field.

Far too often they take their aggression home with them and their families wind up being the unfortunate recipients of their unresolved issues. Roger Goodell needs to implement counseling to help these athletes become better human beings off the field. Counseling, along with stern punishments for any violations of the personal conduct policy would help change the culture of the league and would show women that they are actually a valued supporter of the game we have come to love so much.

And this is what the leader of NOW and other women’s rights groups were trying to get across to Goodell this weekend after the decision came down. Simply handing down slaps on the wrist won’t change anything. The league needs to change its whole approach to how they address domestic violence, and now that the Greg Hardy saga is over, it’s finally time for them to do just that.