{"id":233670,"date":"2025-10-23T05:50:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T05:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/233670\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T05:50:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T05:50:07","slug":"woody-johnsons-remarks-about-justin-fields-crossed-the-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/233670\/","title":{"rendered":"Woody Johnson’s remarks about Justin Fields crossed the line"},"content":{"rendered":"

Much has been said about the decision of Jets owner Woody Johnson to offer blunt, candid, and harsh criticism<\/a> of his starting (for now<\/a>) quarterback, Justin Fields. It was a stunning moment, one that only seemed less jarring due to the nonchalance with which Johnson\u2019s words were delivered.<\/p>\n

His comments absolutely crossed the line.<\/p>\n

What business owner publicly criticizes key employees? What business owner publicly criticizes any employee? A week after the story of the moment arose from Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa venting frustrations at unnamed teammates in the heat of the moment, Johnson delivered a cold-blooded takedown of one specific player.<\/p>\n

Even Jerry Jones has never done that.<\/p>\n

Is it really a surprise? Bad teams stay bad due to dysfunction within the organization. And it all starts at the top. If the owner doesn\u2019t know what he, or she, is doing, how can anyone expect the rest of the organization to operate effectively?<\/p>\n

If the NFL were truly a capitalist, and not inherently socialist, operation, there would be real consequences for a chronic habit of steering the ship into every available iceberg. Financial consequences. But with the 32 teams sharing the white whale of TV revenue and 40 percent of the gate for every game, failing to make a profit becomes a Brewster\u2019s Millions exercise for any NFL franchise.<\/p>\n

One team wins the Super Bowl each year. All teams win the battle of the balance sheet. Johnson\u2019s Jets will continue to swim in black ink, even if he has egg on his own face.<\/p>\n

The real losers are the fans. There\u2019s nothing they can do about ownership. As 49ers CEO Jed York once said, \u201cI own this football team. You don\u2019t dismiss owners<\/a>. I\u2019m sorry that\u2019s the facts and that\u2019s the case, but that\u2019s the fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the NFL benefits from the fact that its fans are passionate, to a fault. This kid put it best, after the Jets\u2019 seventh loss in seven weeks of the regular season: \u201cI hate this team<\/a>. I was born into this and I\u2019m not gonna ever \u2014 I\u2019m always a Jets fan. But, like, I hate this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hates this team, but he\u2019ll still follow this team. He\u2019ll still go to this team\u2019s games. He can\u2019t deny himself of this team he loves, this team that has become part of his existence, his identity.<\/p>\n

Which makes it much easier for bad owners to continue to print money. And which makes it impossible for Jets fans to do the one thing they objectively should: Boycott everything about the Jets until Johnson sells.<\/p>\n