Person of Interest: Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy

Vitals

• Position: Pass-rusher extraordinaire and unrepentant social menace with smart-aleck tendencies
• Height: 6-5
• Weight: 280
• Age: 27
• Experience: Fifth season

The storyline

He has logged 30 sacks in the last 34 games he has played. That tells you why he’s an important – and valued – player in the NFL. He has been held out of 19 games over the past two seasons because of a domestic-violence allegation. That tells you why he’s so controversial, scrutinized and vilified.

Hardy spent almost all of last season on the commissioner’s exempt list after a North Carolina bench judge deemed the allegations that he assaulted a woman more likely to be true than false. He was suspended the first four games of this season following the dismissal of that case when the alleged victim did not make herself available. Prosecutors indicated they believed there was a financial settlement between Hardy and the alleged victim.

A free agent this offseason, Hardy was talented enough that any team in the NFL could have used him, but toxic enough that most stayed away. The Seahawks began conducting a background check, but stopped pursuing Hardy before even bringing him for a visit.

He was signed – predictably – by the Cowboys, a franchise that has made a habit of acquiring high-end talent with a propensity for everything from off-field drama to criminal behavior.

Suspended for the first four games, Hardy made headlines the week before he took the field for his Cowboys debut, first by saying that he hoped to return “guns blazing,” an ill-chosen metaphor since one of the allegations was that he had shoved a woman onto a bed that had a number of firearms resting on it. Later in that interview before his Cowboys debut, Hardy expressed his hope that when Dallas played the Patriots that 1) Tom Brady’s supermodel wife attend the game, and 2) Brady’s supermodel wife had a sister.

At best, Hardy’s comments were completely tone deaf to the severity of the allegations against him while objectifying women. At worst, this was a player who was unrepentant, defiant even, after missing 19 consecutive regular-season games because of an alleged assault against a woman.

Then last week, Hardy made headlines again, this time because he charged into a special-teams huddle after the Cowboys had given up a go-ahead touchdown on a kickoff return. When an assistant coach ushered him out, Hardy slapped at his clipboard and then the coach. Hardy then engaged in what appeared to be a heated sideline argument with noted hothead Dez Bryant, who in this instance was playing the part of the voice of reason.

A clinical psychologist might have a specific term for someone like Hardy. Or maybe he would just call him “a guy who just doesn’t get it.” Hardy didn’t just get a second chance in this league. He is being paid millions this season, and in two games, the headlines have been about something other than his performance on the field.

The statement

The Cowboys have been a franchise consistently willing to employ talented players with a volatile – or in some cases outright criminal – reputations. It was true back when Michael Irvin was a Cowboy. It also explained the additions of guys like Adam “Pacman” Jones, Terry “Tank” Johnson or even an attention hound like Terrell Owens.

But after two games, Hardy’s citizenship issues have overshadowed anything he may have done on the field in the pair of Dallas losses, and Cowboys coach Jason Garrett – in a conference call with Seattle-area reporters – was asked if he cared about the image that Hardy has cast since his return.

“Greg has been a good player for us in the couple games that he’s played,” Garrett said. “He works hard in practice. He works hard in the game. He loves football. I think he loves being a part of this football team. So if he or anybody else needs to – you know if we need to address any issues with those guys we’ll certainly do it. We’ll address it head on, solve it, and move on.

“And that’s the way we’ll handle things and get our focus back on football.”

Except it hasn’t been that easy.

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