2016-Present

Are the L.A. Rams sacrificing football for Hollywood?

Six Rams Players are due to take part in a six episode E! Channel Reality show featuring the players lives out of football and living in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Rams are going full Hollywood. The E! Channel’s newest show “Hollywood and Football” coupled with the filming of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” are a clear indication that the Rams clearly are using their new home to their advantage. As we inch closer to the first preseason game, is all of this attention necessary? Will the extra cameras following the Rams players at all times impact their play on the field?

The Rams were already slated to appear on HBO’s “Hard Knocks, which is slated to premier its 16th season on HBO on August 9. The Hard Knocks reality show is centered around football players’ lives. While this is fine and appears to not interfere directly with football, the second reality show produced by the E! Channel may prove to be otherwise.

This short lived-six episode miniseries will feature OL Roger Saffold, WRs Bradley Marquez and Kenny Britt, and TEs Lance Kendricks and Cory Harkey. Unlike HBO’s “Hard Knocks” which focuses on how the team develops during practices, game film sessions, and other football related activities during training camp, this television show will likely take on a much more Keeping Up With the Kardashians-esque approach.

According to E! executive vice president of programming and development Jeff Olde, the show is meant to show each player creates a new life in Southern California. “We are excited to take viewers inside the exclusive lifestyles of these top athletes and their families as they navigate a new city, new friendships, new schools and the inevitable Hollywood gossip,” Olde said. The lives of these six players on the field are possibly going to take a backseat to their lives outside of football.

The Rams, and more particularly these six football players who are new to the L.A. market, need to put their focus exclusively on football as we approach the beginning of the 2016 football season. Having a network do a reality show based on things that are happening on the field is okay, but having another network dedicated to exclusively showcasing the lives of football players outside of the gridiron this close to football season leads a slippery slope. I hope that Roger Saffold, Bradley Marquez, Kenny Britt, Lance Kendricks and Cory Harkey remember to focus on football as the cameras begin to roll.

Sources Frank Palotta, CNN Money, Libby Hill, LA Times, HBO, Elizabeth Wagmeister, Variety

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