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They kicked the can as far as they could . . .
ESPN’s Adam Schefter announced last Wednesday: “NFL and NFL Films have selected the New York Jets to serve as this year’s team on Hard Knocks, per sources. Jets report to training camp one week from today, July 19, and the cameras will be rolling in full force. NFL and NFL Films have selected the New York Jets to serve as this year’s team on Hard Knocks, per sources. Jets report to training camp one week from today, July 19, and the cameras will be rolling in full force.”
But after that announcement, there was no follow-up announcement making it official from the NFL, NFL Films, HBO or the Jets from Wednesday-Sunday.
Thursday, a writer on NFL.com, the league’s website, said an official announcement was expected on Friday morning. It didn’t happen and the story was updated to say, that announcement would come early next week.
Some thought there would be a Friday news dump, but it didn’t happen. Today a press release finally came out which read:
“HBO and NFL Films are joining forces this summer for HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE NEW YORK JETS. The five-episode series debuts Tuesday, Aug. 8 (10-11 p.m. ET) on HBO and will be available to stream on Max, with additional hour-long episodes debuting subsequent Tuesdays at the same time leading up to the season finale on Sept. 5.
“HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE NEW YORK JETS will mark the 18th edition of the 18-time Sports Emmy®-winning series, embedding camera crews at the Jets’ training camp in Florham Park, N.J. to chronicle third-year head coach Robert Saleh preparing his team of young emerging stars and prominent veterans — most notably, four-time NFL MVP, Aaron Rodgers, Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner, and defensive All-Pros C.J. Mosley and Quinnen Williams — for the upcoming NFL season.
“NFL Films has a long and storied relationship with the Jets, from the early days of the AFL and Joe Namath’s “#1″ salute after Super Bowl III, to The Sack Exchange, and the team’s first appearance on Hard Knocks in the midst of back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances,” said Patrick Kelleher, Executive Producer, NFL Films.
No quote from the Jets in the press release, perhaps because their football operation is being forced to do the show.
“I know there are several teams that would love for ‘Hard Knocks’ to be in their building. We’re just not one of them,” Saleh said on June 9.
“They forced it down our throat and we have to deal with it,” Rodgers said last Thursday.
So essentially, the two biggest stars of the show, the Jets charasmatic coach, and their star QB, want nothing to do with this intrusive production.
This is pretty amazing that the league is forcing an NFL head coach to do a reality show that he doesn’t want to do.
But the Jets aren’t going to allow as much access as past “Hard Knocks.”
Schefter announced today: “Hard Knocks will not be the same. They’re not going to be given the same access. The Jets don’t believe it’s humane to show players being released.”
May 17, 2023
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Tuesday.
