NFL Passes Measure To Force 'Hard Knocks' Participation
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP) — The NFL is trying to spread "Hard Knocks" around.
At their fall meetings Tuesday, owners approved a measure that allows the league to choose which team will be the focus of the documentary-style show if no club volunteers.
Certain teams would be exempt from being forced to participate in the filming:
— those with new coaches;
— those that reached the playoffs in one of the previous two seasons;
— those that appeared on "Hard Knocks" within the preceding 10 years.
So far, only seven of the 32 NFL teams have been on the series, which airs on HBO: Dallas Cowboys (twice), Cincinnati Bengals (twice), New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Kansas City Chiefs.
The new "Hard Knocks" measure may not sit well in some organizations.
In 2010, Giants co-owner John Mara told the New York Daily News that his team would be on the show "when I'm next to my father in Gates of Heaven cemetery."
Fellow Big Blue co-owner Steve Tisch slammed the show earlier this year.
"I don't think it brings anything to the team," Tisch told TMZ. "It's a bit of a distraction, and I think it's sort of misleading for the players."
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