HBO's football series Hard Knocks is one of the more memorable features of the NFL offseason. Each year the television show follows around a team as they go through training camp in preparation for the upcoming NFL season. Over the past few years, Hard Knocks has delivered some memorable moments that give fans a taste of what it is like to a be active in the NFL. Some of those scenes involve players getting cut. As the Cincinnati Bengals sign on for the 2013 season of the show, they intend on continuing the drama.
Back in 2009, the Bengals were the featured team of Hard Knocks and infamously showed players getting dragged out of bed a 5:30 a.m. only to be told they were getting cut from the team. They showed players turning in playbooks and cleaning out their lockers.The procedure certainly filled the request of drama from HBO, but irritated NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The commissioner believes this violates the league's belief in humane ways of cutting players. He has asked HBO to cut these scenes out of the show, something executive Ross Ketover does not plan on following.
"How we're going to handle it is show exactly how they handle it. If it's kind, we're going to show it. If it's harsh, we're going to show that, too. We're not going to miss any moments like that. Viewers will see what happens," Ketover said.
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis believes there is no great way to cut a player. In an interview with FOXSports.com, Lewis said releasing a player is never easy but they try and do it quick and painless in order to avoid awkwardness. Goodell is concerned the method could have an impact on the psychological well-being of players.
"How do we make the process more dignified? It is, in some cases, the last experience a player has with a team or any team in the NFL. We have to do a better job of doing that in a humane way and a away that will make sure they understand the respect we have for them and the pride we have in what they accomplished," Goodell said at an NFL owners meeting.
Ketover has been with Hard Knocks since 2001 when the show first began. He has seen multiple players get cut and believes it is just another part of the NFL that the show will continue to display. The Bengals are willing to give an all-access look into their training camp and the storylines that develop within the team. The show will debut Aug. 6.
