Greg Hardy smacked clipboard away in confrontation with Cowboys coach

Greg Hardy became upset on the Dallas Cowboys’ sideline in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants. He shoved teammates and got in a shouting match with Dez Bryant after the Cowboys gave up a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to Dwayne Harris after briefly pulling even on the scoreboard.

After the game, head coach Jason Garrett and owner/general manager Jerry Jones applauded Hardy’s passion. It’s unclear whether they saw another angle of the incident that showed Hardy getting into a heated confrontation with special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia and slapping the clipboard out his hands, however:

Bisaccia defended Hardy. Via the Forth Worth Star-Telegram:

“He wanted to get in there and kind of get after some of the guys a little bit, maybe get them fired up,” Bisaccia said. “It was just not the right time. It’s really not an issue. I just had to communicate what we were going to do next on the return, so I just really wanted him to move on so we could get going.”

Teammates were also quick to come to Hardy’s side, giving him a pass because of his reputation for being an emotional player.

Added McCray: “It was surprising he was in there. I know when he came, he kind of pushed me a little bit. I just didn’t realize who he was. I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, who is this?‘ Once you realize it’s Greg, you’re like, ‘We need to make a play.’ We understand that was our fault to give up that lead and he was just showing us the passion to show us we need to fix it.”

Hardy was playing just his second game back from a suspension he earned after his domestic violence arrest last year. He made flippant remarks before his season debut, showing little remorse for the victim of the crime for which he was convicted before the case was dismissed. After those two games he is already tied for the team lead in sacks with three.

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