Gotta Keep It Clean for the Fans
It’s kind of been a decision that was made out of respect for them… -Shannon Furman
If you have ever watched a documentary series on the NFL such as HBO’s Hard Knocks or one of Netflix’s recent offerings (Quarterback and Receiver), then you know there’s usually a ton of swearing from the players and coaches.
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We’re not talking about some “PG-13, maybe slipping in one f-bomb” kind of swearing either. They tend to let sh*t rip on these shows, and while I’m the farthest thing from a Word Police Prude, I always thought it came off a bit unprofessional for a show you think families with young football fans might want to watch together.
But now that we have three different versions of Hard Knocks, the training camp version currently airing on HBO about the Chicago Bears is making NFL news by showcasing a much cleaner route with profanity for a show that is over 20 years old now.
Great, I can already hear a subsection of the internet spreading NFL rumors that HBO has “gone woke”, or they’ll soon be turning their ire to rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.
Relax. It’s actually something quite simple related to Chicago owner Virginia McCaskey.
The Real Reason for Less Swearing
In a recent interview, Shannon Furman, the director of Hard Knocks this year, did admit that these Bears swear less often than your typical NFL team. The Bears have their share of veterans and rookies, as well as free agents from other teams, so that’s a surprising admission as there’s not really anything special in their makeup that would make you expect less swearing.
No cursing on Hard Knocks. 🤬🚫
Shannon Furman, Lead director of HBOs hit show, confirms that the lack of swearing on this season of Hard Knocks is out of respect to the McCaskey Family. pic.twitter.com/Xyr6iL31R8
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) August 21, 2024
But Fruman also said that another reason less swearing has made the final cut is out of respect for Bears’ ownership. Virginia Halas McCaskey is still the principal owner of the team and is 101 years old. She is the daughter of Chicago’s legendary coach George Halas, and along with her family she built with deceased husband Ed McCaskey, they still own and operate the team.
“But it is out of respect for the McCaskey family,” Furman said. “It’s something that they don’t do and wouldn’t want to see it. So it’s kind of been a decision that was made out of respect for them letting us in their house and wanting to be respectful to them.”
Granted, McCaskey isn’t too old to where she couldn’t have watched The Sopranos in its heyday and understood what HBO programming is all about. But you can respect the decision to keep it classy with an expected younger audience tuning in to the excitement of Williams as the No. 1 pick.
🚨NEWS: There is a ZERO CURSING policy in this year’s Hard Knocks because the #Bears owners, the McCaskey Family do not use profanity & would not want to hear their players cursing on TV.
(Via Shannon Furman/@CHGO_Bears) pic.twitter.com/2NenuMCWuA
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) August 21, 2024
We’ll Get Our Swearing Fix Later
Truth be told, the OG version of Hard Knocks has been stale for years now. One of the best seasons was over a decade ago when Rex Ryan cursed his ass off on a New York Jets team with a lot of characters.
Since then, a lot of the swearing has felt forced. It’s just training camp. Wait until the sh*t really hits the fan in the regular season, which is why shows like Quarterback or when Amazon Prime made All or Nothing produced more entertaining series.
Look for the swearing to return when Hard Knocks covers the AFC North teams during the season this year.
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