As we all know by now, Greg Hardy's signing by the Dallas Cowboys stirred up all kinds of controversy, both locally and nationally, and even led the Dallas mayor to take a stand, calling it a shot to the gut of the city. That was a bit ridiculous.
Anyway, one former Cowboys great, who's soon to be a Hall of Fame inductee, came out and said he thinks the Cowboys need someone of Hardy's ilk, and he'd know.
That's because Charles Haley was once in Hardy's position — a too-hot-to-handle defensive end with a great talent for getting to opposing quarterbacks and wrecking opponents' offensive game plans. Haley was the missing piece of the early 90s Cowboys dynasty that put them over the top and helped them win three Super Bowls in four seasons and come very close to four straight.
Haley was never a convicted woman-beater, but he had a really bad rap and the Cowboys were able to handle it and get the most out of him while he was a "good enough" teammate to help the team be successful. Haley thinks the Cowboys made the right call by bringing in Hardy, who is also a transcendent talent, despite all of his baggage.
"Everybody deserves a second chance," he told FoxSports.com. "He wants to show everybody what he has and what he can do. He wants to be judged by what he does on the field. But the only way you can be judged by the things you do on the field is you can't be doing dumb (expletive) off the field.
"He's going to be fine. I can't wait to meet him and I can't wait to see him play. I hope and pray the Cowboys make the next step in this journey for a Super Bowl. Sometimes bad boys have to come in here and kick some tail."
