If Greg Hardy was planning on making a big first impression on his new bosses and the rabid Dallas Cowboys fanbase, he's doing a heck of a job.
Hardy, only two days after it was announced by the league that he would be suspended the first 10 games of the 2015 NFL season without pay, was reportedly involved in an altercation with a teammate.
FOX Sports NFL Insiders Mike Garafolo and Alex Marvez released a joint report that Hardy was involved in a "verbal altercation" with new Cowboys teammate Davon Coleman on Friday which required teammates to separate the pair, per sources.
"The dispute between Hardy and Coleman arose from Hardy's questioning Coleman's effort during conditioning drills, a source said. Hardy is working out with his new teammates after signing with the team earlier this month. He was suspended 10 games for a violation of the league's personal conduct policy following charges of domestic abuse last year, though he's permitted to take part in the team's offseason program."
Hardy, of course, was placed on commissioner Roger Goodell's exempt list for the majority of the 2014 season after allegations surfaced that he had assaulted his former girlfriend, Nicole Holder - not to mention he supposedly threw her on a bed covered in automatic guns, but hey, where else do you keep your cache of dangerous weaponry?
If this latest report is accurate, it makes the Cowboys' decision to sign Hardy in the first place seem even more ill-conceived than originally thought.
Yes, they protected themselves financially - Hardy's deal carries a tiny base salary and a number of major incentive-based escalators for performance along with in-game roster bonuses - but the question remains: will Hardy's presence and continued string of public relations issues be worth the handful of, no doubt, important sacks he's able to provide in the latter stages of next season and, hopefully, the postseason?
If, and or when, Hardy is pulling down opposing quarterbacks, these types of incidents won't matter.
For now though, Hardy's reported antics only serves to make the Cowboys seem less informed and, potentially, less appealing to both a league already struggling with several PR nightmares and NFL fans at-large.
This post has been updated.