Greg Hardy doesn’t care if you don’t like him

Sep 7, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy (76) during the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 7, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy (76) during the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

New Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy posted a tweet saying that he could care less if you don’t like him.


The Dallas Cowboys have come under a lot of fire this offseason for signing former Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy, who was accused of sexual assault last year and played only one game while being suspended.

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Hardy was cleared of the charge of sexual assault when his accuser could not be located during his appeal.

So Hardy’s signing was not exactly a crowd pleaser. People everywhere, from fans to the mayor of Dallas, have spoken out against the signing.

Throughout it all, Hardy has been largely silent. On Monday that changed, as he went on Instagram and Twitter to post a message against his critics. The message stayed up for several hours before being deleted, but the original text read as follows:

"“I don’t Care If U Like Me, I Like Me and God knows all so I pray he Blesses America, The Cowboys and no place else #happy to have an opportunity #WorkLikeUAlwaysDo#Harder#Hardy#sackscoming#goodmorning all real Kraken fans I love u guys.”"

It’s no surprise that someone whose Twitter handle is “OverlordKraken” is a bit short on humility.

It’s not unusual to see these kinds of “haters gonna hate” posts from NFL players. The difference here is that Hardy doesn’t have haters the way, say, Jay Cutler does. No one’s criticizing his play, his work ethic, his lack of a Super Bowl ring, or any of the typical criticisms levied at NFL players. No, Hardy has critics because he was accused of choking and brutally beating a woman, and just because he was cleared doesn’t mean the critics will go away. So “I don’t care if you don’t like me” may not be the proper response.

There are plenty of NFL players who have been accused (and occasionally convicted) of crimes and have come back and kept their noses clean, such as Ben Roethlisberger and Michael Vick, so there is hope for Hardy. But in this case, Hardy can’t silence the critics with his play; it’s not as simple as that.

[H/T: Dallas Morning News]

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