The New York Jets do not intend to give the Hard Knocks cameras inhumane access to the team
If HBO thought they were getting a steal in nabbing the New York Jets for Hard Knocks, they were apparently dead wrong.
Adam Schefter of ESPN elaborated on the Jets’ opposition to Hard Knocks. It’s not just the crotchety Aaron Rodgers or the players’ coach Robert Saleh; the front office is fundamentally opposed to the concept of the show.
.@AdamSchefter put it all out there this morning saying the #Jets ‘fought it all along’ in reference to #HardKnocks, ‘they met w/ @NFLFilms & told them clear as day we don’t want to do this’ + ‘Hard Knocks will not be the same because they’re not going to be given the same… pic.twitter.com/ItnpFYwo9E
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) July 17, 2023
Per Schefter, the Jets are not going to allow the HBO cameras to have the same access that they normally do. That applies especially to players being released, which the Jets feel is not humane.
In 2010, Rex Ryan was The Greatest Showman, inviting the cameras in to get snacks and whatever else happened to come out of his mouth. Saleh, while not quite Ryan’s polar opposite, is certainly not one to air the team’s clean or dirty laundry.
The NFL wanted the Jets on the show with the team’s full cooperation. Absent that, their other choice was to pivot to the Commanders, but they did not want to do so with the team in the process of a sale. Therefore, as Rodgers said, “They forced it down our throats.”
Whoever said that it’s inhumane to show players being cut, whether it was Saleh, Douglas, or someone else, will likely win brownie points with the players. One of the byproducts of reality TV is abject humiliation; it’s what the cameras thrive on. That is incompatible with a coach who is all about respect.
Jets safety Jordan Whitehead retweeted the post above, showing approval for the Jets’ Hard Knocks stance.
The drama of Hard Knocks may just be about how little the Jets participate in it. Get ready for a potentially contentious summer.
