CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Panthers coach Ron Rivera had a change of heart Sunday, benching defensive end Greg Hardy before the teams 24-7 win against the Detroit Lions. Rivera defended his late decision to make Hardy inactive by saying the "climate has changed" and the team "has to get this right." Rivera said he wouldnt rule out Hardy playing in the future. "We have to go through a very difficult process and he has to go through one, as do other people as well," Rivera said. "This is a very serious situation and set of circumstances. We are going to work things out and hopefully we get it right." Carolina listed Hardy as inactive just two days after Rivera said Friday that Hardy would play. Hardy was convicted July 15 of assault on a female and communicating threats. He is appealing the ruling. He was active against Tampa Bay in Week 1. Rivera refused to discuss details surrounding the Hardy case and why he chose to change course. Wes Horton started in Hardys spot. Mario Addison, another Carolina backup defensive end, had 2 1/2 sacks. Carolinas sitting of Hardy comes in the wake of personal conduct incidents involving Baltimores Ray Rice and Minnesotas Adrian Peterson. Rivera wouldnt discuss if the decision by the Vikings to deactivate Peterson for todays game against New England played a role in Carolinas decision to declare Hardy inactive. Earlier this week Panthers owner Jerry Richardson broke down in tears when talking about domestic violence after receiving the Award Against Indifference from the Echo Foundation, a non-profit education organization. "I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge an issue weighing heavily on our sport and our society," Richardson said Wednesday night in Charlotte. "When it comes to domestic violence, my stance is not one of indifference. I stand firmly against domestic violence, plain and simple. To those who would suggest that weve been too slow to act, I ask that you consider not to be too quick to judge. Over the course of our 20 years, we have worked extremely hard to build an organization of integrity." Hardy was unavailable for interviews after the game. He was not on the sideline during the game. He played in the season opener against Tampa Bay and had four tackles a sack in a 20-14 win. Hardy was found guilty in a bench trial, but under criminal procedure in North Carolina, lawyers can appeal that ruling. That basically gives Hardy a new trial where he is considered innocent until proven guilty. Behind Hardy, the Panthers led the NFL in sacks last season with 60. Hardy, now in his fifth season, had 15 sacks in 2013 and has 26 sacks in last 32 games. He has 10 sacks in his last seven home games. Cheap Islanders Jerseys Authentic . Amare Stoudemire had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Carmelo Anthony scored 21 and the New York Knicks won their eighth straight game, 93-92 over Philadelphia on Friday night, sending the Sixers to their 23rd straight loss. Cheap Islanders Jerseys China .NYCFC confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that this week Lampard signed a contract to start in July — midway through the new teams first season in MLS. http://www.cheapislandersjerseys.com/. Still, its a start. Josh Baileys goal with 1:40 left capped a furious third-period rally, and the Islanders edged the Penguins 4-3 on Friday night. Wholesale Islanders Jerseys . 5 Trade Deadline isnt that far away and teams will be making decisions on whether to buy, sell and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Cheap New York Islanders Jerseys . Old times for a defence that has looked just plain old recently? "No," safety Ryan Clark said. "We used to be much better than that.Madison, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - Having recently earned a regular-season sweep of the Ohio State Buckeyes, the 25th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes will try to keep the good times going when they pay a visit to the sixth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers for a Big Ten Conference clash on Tuesday night. Iowa took down visiting Ohio State on Saturday, 76-67, for the second time in a little less than three weeks, the first coming in the Big Ten opener for both teams in Columbus on Dec. 30, 71-65. As a result, the Hawkeyes are 13-5 overall, and theyve won four of their first five conference bouts. The lone blemish on their league ledger came at home to Michigan State, 75-61, on Jan. 8. Iowa is 3-0 in true road games this season, having already beaten a pair of ranked foes on their home floor (North Carolina, Ohio State). Wisconsin has been ranked among the top teams in the nation all season long, and the team enters this fray sporting a 16-2 record, which includes a 4-1 mark in Big Ten play. The Badgers, who have matched their second-best 18-game start in the modern era, dropped a surprising 67-62 decision at conference newcomer Rutgers on Jan. 11 to stop an eight-game win streak. The squad responded by defeating Nebraska at home last Thursday, 70-55, to improve to 9-1 at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin is clinging to an 80-79 lead in the all-time series with Iowa, and the Badgers won both meetings last season. Things have been close of late, with each of the last five matchups being decided by five points or less. Iowa played well at both ends of the court in its recent win over Ohio State, as the team drained 51.1 percent of its field goal attempts while allowing the Buckeyes to do so at just 38.3 percent. Aaron White led the Hawkeyes with 22 points, while Adam Woodbury finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Mike Gesell pitched in with 11 points. Those efforts were certainly needed, as the Buckeyes got a monster effort from DAngelo Russell as he tallied 27 pointss and 14 boards.dddddddddddd Iowa used a 37-31 advantage on the glass, and a 25-14 edge in points at the foul line to come out on top. For the season, White (16.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg) paces the team in both scoring and rebounding, and he also serves as the Hawkeyes top thief with 30 steals. Jarrod Uthoff (11.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.1 apg, 28 blocks) is the only other double-digit scorer for an Iowa team that isnt an offensive juggernaut (70.8 ppg, .420 FG percentage), but does a solid job of frustrating its opponents into only 61.4 ppg and a typical shooting output of only .389 overall. The Hawkeyes usually win both the rebounding (+3.7) and turnover (+1.7) battles. Frank Kaminsky appeared to be no worse for the wear in his return from a concussion, as he scored 22 points, including the draining of four 3-pointers, as Wisconsin pushed its way past Nebraska last week. It was the 100th win (against only 14 losses) for the Badgers at home against a Big Ten opponent under head coach Bo Ryan. In all, UW put five players in double figures as it played its first game without starting guard Traevon Jackson (fractured foot). The Badgers nailed 11 treys, and used a 17-8 edge in points at the charity stripe to assist in the victory. The two teams combined for only 11 turnovers. Even with Jackson out of the lineup, the Badgers still have three double-digit scorers on which to rely, led by All-America candidate Kaminsky (17.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 32 blocks). Sam Dekker (12.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and Nigel Hayes (12.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg) have been consistent contributors as well, and guys like Josh Gasser (7.2 ppg) and Bronson Koenig (5.2 ppg) will be asked to elevate their respective games moving forward. Overall, Wisconsin nets 73.3 ppg while allowing just 54.9 ppg. The Badgers convert 74 percent of their free throws, and they are +6.4 in rebounding margin, and +3.2 in turnover differential. They protect the ball extremely well, coughing it up only 8.2 times per outing. ' ' '