{"id":597136,"date":"2026-04-21T07:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T07:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/597136\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T07:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T07:23:09","slug":"jail-blazers-isnt-very-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/597136\/","title":{"rendered":"Jail Blazers ‘isn’t very good’"},"content":{"rendered":"

While they\u2019ve made strides in recent documentaries, Netflix has developed a reputation for making sports documentaries and docuseries that prioritize access over analysis. As such, they tend to become hagiographies<\/a> rather than\u00a0authentic retellings of what happened.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how Dan Le Batard felt after watching Netflix\u2019s latest Untold film about the Portland Trail Blazers during an era when they were known as the Jail Blazers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat Jail Blazers documentary isn\u2019t very good,\u201d said Le Batard on his show. \u201cAnd the reason it\u2019s not very good is because they just let the players tell their story and there\u2019s just not enough in there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just not examined. You make your own determination, but it was clear that it was made by the players. It was just obvious that it was made by the players. There\u2019s just a lot missing from the story.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026I left that documentary feeling unsatisfied. As an example, they didn\u2019t really even tackle the racial component of what was happening in Portland. They skipped right past it.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026The reason everybody wanted to make the Jail Blazers documentary for the last 10 years is to tell the truth, not just to tell the story that you have access to the players, so they\u2019ll sit down with you. Like, you want the whole truth, not just their truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jail Blazers documentary fell flat pic.twitter.com\/h0MyltKQnv<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) April 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Le Batard summarizes the issue with so many of Netflix\u2019s sports doc offerings under the Untold label. While the films can boast direct access to the people at the center of the story, that often comes with an abdication or desire to get into what happened and why.<\/p>\n

Of the Connor Stalions episode, we found it to be \u201ca shocking piece of PR rehab<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swamp Kings, about Urban Meyer\u2019s Florida Gators, glossed over a bevy of serious issues<\/a> that plagued the program.<\/p>\n

The documentary on Manti Te\u2019o\u2019s infamous fake girlfriend had no desire to understand the underlying conditions<\/a> that led to his being catfished so thoroughly.<\/p>\n

As for the Jail Blazers doc, our Michael Grant agreed with Le Batard, calling it<\/a> \u201ca documentary about two things, both of which should have been explored in greater depth,\u201d and that it \u201conly scratches the surface.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point, it doesn\u2019t seem as though Netflix is too interested in changing that formula, which is a shame, but also in line with how so many sports documentaries end up nowadays<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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