Update: Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett questioned about Greg Hardy's Twitter account during Wednesday's news conference. See the video below.
Look, I’ve been on record since last February in saying the Cowboys shouldn’t have signed Greg Hardy. Bringing him here was a slap in the face to every female fan, and I’ve been struggling ever since with the uncomfortable trick of rooting against a player but still for the team he plays for.
But now that he’s here, man, someone please get him a decent public relations manager.
In this coddling society where we hand out second chances as casually as M&Ms, Hardy missed his opportunity for forgiveness. Before taking the field as a Cowboy he should’ve held a heartfelt, sincere news conference in which he expressed remorse and regret for his past, without admitting any guilt in his domestic dispute case. Instead, he’s displayed anger issues, flirted with opponent’s wives and now … Claimed his innocence, and even blamed "discrimination."
On the field Hardy has been as good as advertised. He’s responsible for 28 percent (4 of 14) of the Cowboys’ sacks and 33 percent (1 of 3) of their interceptions.
From the Sideline: Cowboys vs Eagles
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
His disruptive force, however, has continued off the field as well.
Because it’s difficult to separate person from player, everyone from Roger Staubach to Charles Barkley has distinct, differing opinions about Hardy. But as soon as the smoke from one episode dwindles, he inexplicably lights another fire.
This morning the guy whose Twitter handle is @OverlordKraken tweaked his bio. In response to newly prodded critics that last week were presented with both disturbing photos of Hardy’s alleged victim and the official cleansing of his record in the case, he temporarily changed his Twitter name to “Perfection” and rewrote his bio:
Innocent until proven guilty-lack of knowledge & information is just ignorance-the unjust/prejudicial treatment of diff categories of people is discrimination.
Hours later Hardy re-edited the bio to the name “Machiavelli Kraken” and the tag line to Come with me Hail Mary Run quick see What do we have here now wana be my ride or die La la la la la la (SuperBlockParty).
Don’t ask me to decipher. Machiavelli was a 15th-Century Italian philosopher known as the founder of modern political science. Kraken is a mythical sea monster that dwelled in Scandinavia. And the tag line may or may not be lyrics from a 2 Pac song titled “Hail Mary.”
With Hardy, who really knows?
Guaranteed Cowboys’ head coach Jason Garrett will be asked about Hardy’s social media presence during Wednesday's news conference (see below), and will likely have another one-on-one talk with the defensive end about his words and actions off the field.
We knew Hardy would be a distraction. But his monster continues to grow new tentacles.
By my count this will be four private conversations with Garrett about Hardy's words. A good publicist would immediately mute him in the locker room. "No comment" on everything, for now. And also take over his social media account, and allow it to go silent for the time being.
Hardy remains a great player and a bad guy. His actions — sans guidance — continue to make him seem only worse.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
