All the attempts this offseason to fix the image of former Panthers and Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy haven’t resulted in him getting another job.
But he’s continuing to try to present a softer image.
Hardy’s still on Twitter, but his screen name has recently changed from “Overlord Kraken” (whatever that ever meant) to “GregHardyJr” and his avatar is now a picture of him holding a baby.
And if you glance at his profile page, where you used to see photos of him menacing quarterbacks or making goofy faces or promoting his fledgling second career as a rapper, there’s now a mural of him adorably smiling over a class of adorable smiling schoolchildren and their adorable smiling teacher (though the kid in the front center seems skeptical of the whole production).
His messages lately are the basic #riseandgrind and basketball variety, with nothing particularly inflammatory in his timeline.
Of course, there’s a good reason for Hardy to put on a happy face, as he’d like to gain employment from another NFL team.
The Cowboys washed their hands of Hardy after one year, mostly because he didn’t provide the kind of pass-rush they were hoping for — but the assorted distractions and perpetual tardiness didn’t help.
He missed most of the 2014 season after domestic violence charges in Charlotte, where he was convicted by a judge but the case was thrown out on the appeal to a jury trial, after he reached a settlement with his accuser.
He’s found few takers in the market despite several volleys of public relations. Which makes it interesting to wonder whether he took up this latest project on his own, or whether a team has suggested that if he cleans up his act, they’d be willing to give him a third chance.
