Data filter/search partial ignorance?

Cat

Lets say you have a database entry that has some html in it, for example a column with usernames which link to the user's profile, like...

<a target="_blank" href="./users/testuser">Testuser</a>

where the target varies depending on user options upon posting the database entry, and lets say you want to order the usernames in your DataTable alphabetically. Is there any way to make the filter (or, "search results") ignore the html tag(s) and filter only according to the actual content?

Thanks in advance for any help :)