Greg Hardy has made headlines for mostly the wrong reasons this season, but what the defensive end did for a fan who was seeking an autograph Monday night was pretty cool.
Hardy has not maintained a close relationship with the Carolina Panthers since the team chose not to re-sign him last year in the wake of domestic violence allegations. So when a fan, 38-year-old Jeremy Smith, pulled out a mini Panthers helmet at a Gameday Sports Tours promotion Monday night, Hardy refused to sign it.
“No, I can’t do it,” he said.
Instead, Hardy reached into his pocket, pulled out a $100 bill and autographed that.
Greg Hardy at the Owner's Box in Dallas. Wouldn't sign fan's Panthers helmet. Pulled $100 outta pocket, signed that pic.twitter.com/IC6CwhQuIU
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 3, 2015
Smith said he was irritated at first but was satisfied with the alternative.
“I was a little irritated because I spent $37 on the mini helmet,” he told Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News. “But he offset it by throwing down the $100 bill. I was a little surprised. It made me feel better.”
Even if Hardy’s autograph winds up being worthless, at least the fan knows the $100 bill will be more valuable than the mini helmet.
Hardy has been somewhat of a distraction for the Dallas Cowboys since he returned from suspension, and you can read more about that here. Had he turned down an autograph seeker just because he is bitter about how things ended with the Panthers, it would have been a terrible look. Signing the C-note was a solid idea.
