The Cowboys' signing of Greg Hardy may be explaining why no NFL team is giving Ray Rice a second chance.

Dallas owner Jerry Jones has been steadfast in his defense of giving Hardy, found guilty last year of domestic abuse against his then-girlfriend. But the backlash has intensified since Deadspin released photos of Hardy's ex that she said were taken the day after the incident took place.

Cowboys Again Pass On Ray Rice, Sign Less Heralded Robert Turbin

Now, in its aftermath comes allegations from the ex-wife of a former Cowboys player who claims she told a member of the organization about his abuse, and nothing happened, except a tirade from the player.

Dorothy Newton, ex-wife of former popular Cowboys offensive lineman Nate Newton, claimed someone in the organization knew that she was the victim of her then-husband's domestic abuse, but never received any help in an interview with Sports Illustrated, via Huffington Post.

Jerry Jones Defense Of Greg Hardy Hypocritical Compared To Comments About Ray Rice

Newton wrote a book, "Silent Cry," detailing that abuse.

Nate and Dorothy were married eight years and together 14.

"In the beginning ... there was a lot of verbal abuse, and I didn't recognize it as abuse," Dorothy Newton said. It turned physical after the Newton won his first Super Bowl ring with the Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII on Jan. 31, 1993 - four years into Jones' ownership of the Cowboys.

"I believe they knew that I was verbally abused; I believe they knew I was emotionally abused," she said. "I never, ever shared the enormity of the physical abuse. There was the time when a friend of mine told someone inside of the organization, and that's when he came and he was extremely violent, and probably the worst violence I ever experienced during our time together."

Dororthy claims Nate shoved a custom-made kitchen table at her stomach when she was pregnant and also shot at her.

"Nate was really, really angry because I told his business to his employers, so I had consequences to suffer as a result of it," she said.

Dorothy said she does not know in whom her friend confided in the organization, adding that she was "leaving it up to" the friend to provide that information.

The Cowboys did not respond to Huffington Post's request for comment.

But if reports keep surfacing against Dallas over its past handling - or lack of handling -- of domestic violence incidents, other teams probably are unwilling to undergo similar scrutiny and be exposed to some error it may not even have been aware of if they sign Rice.

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