Hard Knocks shows Chad Johnson being cut from the Miami Dolphins

In the ultimate reality TV moment, the second episode of HBO’s Hard Knocks featured Chad Johnson being dismissed from the team. The irony – or not, this IS reality TV.

NFL films tweeted all Tuesday about the dramatic episode featuring Chad being cut – is that the episode featured Chad foreshadowing his downfall mentioning “cheating” and being “arrested.”

In watching the episode, one thing is clear, head coach Joe Philbin was never on board the Chad Johnson train.

Now that’s some REALITY TV. Notice I mentioned above about NFL films Tweeting about this episode. People are always talking about “gossip” having no place in sports. That they don’t care about off-field life. The reality is it absolutely affects the on-field product. Like it or not, these are the conversations that are happening behind the scenes. For fans, you wanted more access, this includes seeing the other areas that team execs consider when constructing their teams or how they handle “issues.”

For athletes, the desire to be a “brand” and have people buy your shoes, drink the beverages you endorse, or watch your reality show means that the focus on your personal life is magnified. Sports entertainment has evolved, it’s not going away.