Former NFLers and Patriots players Julian Edelman and Matthew Slater took issue with Apple TV+'s “The Dynasty” docuseriesGetty Images
Former NFLers Julian Edelman and Matthew Slater “joined the growing list” of current and former Patriots players unhappy with Apple TV+'s “The Dynasty” docuseries, according to Justin Leger of NBCSPORTSBOSTON.com. During Edelman's podcast, "Games With Names," both he and Slater “took issue with their longtime head coach Bill Belichick being portrayed negatively.” Slater said he feels like Belichick is “being portrayed in a certain light.” Slater: “We're painting a picture, but we're only showing people part of the picture. ... Let's make sure none of us forget the fact that the dynasty is not even being talked about without Bill Belichick.” Edelman agreed with Slater's point, noting that Belichick's tough love “made his players better on and off the field.” Edelman: “If you're in your 30s and you've played football, I don't think you've ever liked your football coach. You loved him. But you didn't like your football coach.” The docuseries has “drawn widespread criticism” for its portrayal of Belichick. Former Patriot players Devin McCourty and Rodney Harrison “recently voiced their displeasure” with the docuseries, as did owner Robert Kraft at the NFL owners meetings yesterday (NBCSPORTSBOSTON.com, 3/26).
DEFLECTING BLAME? Kraft said yesterday at the meetings that he “wished the 10-part series was a little more positive.” He said, “I felt bad that there was so much emphasis on the more controversial, and let’s say challenging situations over the last 20 years. A little disappointed that there wasn’t more of a real positive approach -- especially for Patriot fans who have lived the experience with us.” In Boston, Ben Volin wrote Kraft “seems to have heard and felt the criticism of the project, because his complaints echoed those being voiced by many Patriots fans.” The owner’s comments “gave the impression that he was an innocent bystander” and that he “had no role" in the content of the series. A Kraft spokesperson said that Kraft Sports Productions was not “involved in the project,” and the “Copyright Kraft Dynasty 2024″ that appears at the end of each episode does not mean the Krafts “had any creative control, but is just a way for the Patriots to protect the video footage they provided.” Volin wrote Kraft is “distancing himself from a project that he seems to have spearheaded.” Volin: “Kraft seems to want us to believe that he’s just as upset as anyone else about ‘The Dynasty’ and that he had no control over what was presented. But even if we take the Krafts at their word, they certainly authorized the entire series.” He added Kraft just wants everyone to “believe that he had nothing to do with ‘The Dynasty,’ even though his fingerprints are all over it” (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/26).
