What’s Your “Human Garbage” Number?

So after seeing the photographs and police report materials this week, we can all agree with Katie Nolan’s assessment that Greg Hardy is “human garbage”. But The Once and Future King Laserface Jesus taught us to let he who is without sin float cast the first stone, so we should all consider our own relationship to the man.  After all, many other athletes – even ones of sterling reputations – are only a few degrees of separation from playing as his teammate (and still being directly exposed to his raging assholery).

Some examples:

• Michael Oher played football with Greg Hardy both in high school and at Ole Miss.  He has a Human Garbage number of ONE.

• Vince Carter played basketball with Brendan Haywood at UNC in 1998.  Brendan Haywood played basketball with Julius Peppers at UNC in 1999.  Julius Peppers played on the Carolina Panthers with Jonathan Stewart in 2009.  Jonathan Stewart was teammates with Greg Hardy in 2012.  There are four degrees of separation (VC-BH-JP-JS-GH) so Vince Carter has a Human Garbage number of FOUR.

• As for yours truly:  I went to high school with Eric Hurrie, who played football at Harvard.  In 1995 and/or 1996 he would have been teammates with Matt Birk, who later went on to play center for the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens.  Matt Birk was teammates with Joe Flacco in 2012.  Joe Flacco was teammates with Steve Smith Sr.  in 2014.  Steve Smith was teammates with Greg Hardy in 2013.  Adding those up: RRD-EH-MB-JF-SS-GH gives a total of five links.  So I have a Human Garbage number of FIVE!  Interestingly, another pathway through Jared Allen also gets me to five.

What’s your Human Garbage number?