HBO's "Ballers" Could Face NFL Pushback, As Series Does Not Depict Players Favorably

HBO's "Ballers" is set to debut next Sunday night, and the show likely will be "making waves in the NFL," according to Jenny Vrentas of THE MMQB. In the first four episodes, characters "playing current and former NFL athletes engage in activities including painkiller drug abuse, recreational drug use, philandering, sex in nightclubs and locker-room hazing." The depiction of the "more salacious elements of the NFL culture" is similar to that depicted in ESPN's former show “Playmakers." Stephen Levinson, the creator and producer of "Ballers," "deferred to network execs" when asked about any "potential pushback from the NFL." He "emphasized that 'Ballers' has a 'lightness' to it." Levinson: "It’s very, very different. I’ve never watched ('Playmakers'), but I will tell you (our) show is a half-hour. We obviously could have done an hour. An hour is a drama. Thirty minutes is a dramedy or comedy. I hope people will like it and get it." Vrentas notes the show "has the participation of real NFL players in cameo roles." Among those is Cardinals LB LaMarr Woodley "dancing with two bikini-clad women he refers to as 'bitches.'" Given the current climate, and the NFL’s concerns about "repairing its image after a run of off-field incidents involving women and children within the past year, those scenes are sure to raise some eyebrows." One NFL veteran who was briefed of the show’s content said in a sarcastic tone, "Thanks for representing us like that, guys" (MMQB.SI.com, 6/15). A commercial for the show on ABC last night during halftime of Cavaliers-Warriors NBA Finals Game 5 (THE DAILY).

WELCOME TO MIAMI: In West Palm Beach, Andrew Abramson noted the show "centers around the Dolphins." The present-day scenes are "filmed at a fictional version of the Dolphins practice facility, but it’s very close to reality," including the “Champions Work Here” sign that the Dolphins "actually have" in their facility. Even Doctors Hospital is "receiving free publicity," as the players’ practice jerseys "feature the real-life 'Doctors Hospital' patch." There also is a fight in the Dolphins locker room among teammates that involves a player "unknowingly sleeping with his teammate’s mom." It "might not be exactly how" Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross "wants his team represented" on TV (PALM BEACH POST, 6/14).