Rob Feeley, former Temple football player, is featured on this season of Love is Blind, Netflix’s hit dating show.
Feeley didn’t get much playing time at Temple, but he’s getting plenty of screen time on the show, including some he probably doesn’t want. He’s getting a lot of heat, even hate, for his drunken and belligerent meltdown at a cast hangout, all of which was captured on film.
Rob on “Love is Blind” (photo courtesy of The Today Show)
Feeley’s cringe-worthy behavior was unacceptable, and he knows it. But it is explainable.
Feeley was in the throes of grieving the loss of his beloved father, something he hasn’t yet processed. It doesn’t help that he was taught to keep his emotions inside, and that his friends who appear on the show are neanderthals.
At this traumatic time, Feeley probably had no business starring on a popular dating show where the goal is to marry someone you met less than a month ago. He certainly had no business drinking copious amounts of alcohol.
But let’s face it: television production is a pressure cooker, not a nurturing environment. Perhaps Feeley went on the show as a desperate cry for help. After all of the supposed pre-screening, Netflix certainly should’ve been better prepared. But they’re television producers, not therapists.
They used alcohol to lubricate “the drama,” and often rely n grief sharing to accelerate intimacy. It’s all for entertainment, which the show is.
Yes, Feeley was out of line, but I’m all for showing him grace and empathy during a personally difficult time.
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Jon Hart is the author of Man versus Ball: One Ordinary Guy and His Extraordinary Sports Adventures.
