No, offseason Hard Knocks is not worth the trouble.
The latest example of an unforced error arising from the Giants’ participation in the HBO show comes from the fact that former Giants (now Eagles) running back Saquon Barkley didn’t realize his farewell phone conversation with Giants G.M. Joe Schoen was being recorded.
Barkley nevertheless appreciated that the show didn’t try to mischaracterize the situation.
“At the end of the day, I also think they have control of the edits and they could have painted me to look really bad, and they kind of gave the truth,” Barkley told reporters, via Tim McManus of ESPN.com.
Truth or not, it’s generally regarded as bad form to record phone calls without telling the person on the other end of the line that the call is being recorded.
Fortunately for the Giants, New Jersey is a one-party state, which allows calls to be recorded without the knowledge or consent of the other party. If the offseason Hard Knocks team had been in a state like Florida or Georgia, a call like that could have become a wiretapping violation.