Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr was asked Friday about hate messages he has received since his hit two months ago that broke the collarbone of Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Barr paused and pointed to a Twitter notification on his phone.

“I actually just got one right here,’’ Barr said in an interview with the Pioneer Press. “It says, ‘I hope you tear your ACL.’ ”

Since the Oct. 15 hit on Rodgers at U.S. Bank Stadium, there have been plenty of anti-Barr messages. Barr recently posted on the web a picture of a card he received from someone wanting him to end up like Darryl Stingley, the New England receiver who was paralyzed by a hit in a 1978 preseason game and died in 2007.

A Twitter search reveals messages from apparent Packers fans, reading, “Praying for a career-ending injury for Anthony Barr,” “Anthony Barr, I still hope you break your neck,” “Eat (expletive) Anthony Barr,” “Radical Minnosotan terrorist Anthony Barr,” and “Aaron Rodgers about to break Anthony Barr’s collarbone.”

“I don’t feel it’s going to stop,” Barr said of the hate messages. “So it kind of is what it is.” Related Articles Vikings coach Mike Zimmer recalls meeting Gale Sayers as a boy

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Barr was not penalized or fined for the hit that came after Rodgers had rolled to his right and threw a pass that would be incomplete in the first quarter of a 23-10 Minnesota win. After spending eight weeks on injured reserve, Rodgers was activated Saturday and will return Sunday at Carolina. During his absence, the Packers (7-6) went 3-4 with Brett Hundley as the starting quarterback to fall three games behind the Vikings (10-3) in the NFC North.

The Packers play host to Minnesota next Saturday at Lambeau Field. Whether Rodgers plays could depend on how he looks against the Panthers and whether Green Bay wins to stay in the playoff race.

Five days after Rodgers’ injury and four days after Packers coach Mike McCarthy had accused Barr of “an illegal act,” Barr insisted he’s “not a dirty player.” He wished the quarterback a “speedy recovery” and said he had the “utmost respect” for him.

Barr’s attitude toward Rodgers changed a week after that. After Rodgers had said on the TBS show “Conan” that Barr gave him the “finger (and) ‘suck-it’ sign” after the hit, Barr took to Twitter to say Rodgers wasn’t telling the whole story. Barr wrote that he didn’t retaliate until after Rodgers was “calling me all kinds of names, F you this, F you that.”

Barr was asked Friday how he felt about the impending return of Rodgers.

“I don’t really care,” Barr said. “It doesn’t really affect me or this football team in any way. We have a game to worry about (Sunday against Cincinnati at U.S. Bank Stadium). I’m sure they’re thrilled about it. I’m sure he’s thrilled to be back, but my focus is here with the Vikings.”

Barr then was asked if his tone had changed any since he wished Rodgers a “speedy recovery” because of what the quarterback said on “Conan.”

“No, I mean, like I said, I hate to see anybody get hurt and I always want to see people recover as fast as possible, so good for him and good for them, I guess,” Barr said.

Barr had put on Snapchat a photo of the threatening card he received in the mail, postmarked Dec. 11 from Fort Myers, Fla., with no return address. It read in part, “Proud of yourself? … You didn’t have to throw him to the ground and purposely come down on top of him. Did you jump for joy when heard his C-bone crack? … Come 12/23, hope you get your neck snapped. Remember Daryl (sic) Stingley. Your payback is coming.’’

Barr was asked why he chose to publicize the message.

“I thought it was funny that someone would take the time to address something like that, but to each his own,” Barr said.

Barr said that was the first piece of hate mail he had received through the postal service. It was addressed to the Vikings and was with other mail brought to his locker.

Barr has seen numerous hate messages on the web. He doesn’t seek them out to read but doesn’t go to any lengths to avoid seeing them, he said.

“I don’t usually read them,’’ he said. “I just skim over them. I just happened to open (Twitter notifications) up and (the one Friday about the torn ACL) was the first one that popped up. Sometimes you can’t ignore it. That one was right there.”

Barr said he doesn’t need to use any of the messages as motivation because he’s a “pretty highly self-motivated guy and all that stuff just falls by the wayside.”

Regardless, Vikings defensive end Brian Robison said it’s unfair the criticism Barr has received for the hit on Rodgers, and he condemned the hate messages the linebacker has received.

“I don’t think there was anything malicious about anything that happened (with the hit),” Robison said. “That’s just part of football. At the end of the day, I think as people we have to understand that this game does not rule the world and people need to understand we got to have compassion for people, and (the hate messages about Barr are) just not what needs to be happening in our humanity right now. Related Articles Gale Sayers, Bears Hall of Fame running back, dies at 77

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“It needs to stop. People need to have love and compassion for each other and understand that accidents happen and things happen. Obviously, none of us want to see Aaron go down. Really truly, at the end of the day, you want to be able to go out and beat the best, and Aaron Rodgers is definitely one of the best in the league if not the best. So for us we want him to be out here.”

It remains to be seen whether Rodgers will play against the Vikings in Green Bay’s final home game of the regular season. Regardless, Barr knows there will be plenty of questions for him during the week about facing the Packers, and he’s ready.

“Yeah, it comes with the territory,” Barr said.