NFL Team Gets Dragged For Canceling Fan Invitation
The New York Jets are having one terrible 2025-26 season.
The Jets sit in the AFC East cellar with a paltry 3-12 record. The unimpressive season resulted in the team firing defensive coordinator Steve Wilks just weeks ago. It was first-year head coach Aaron Glenn's first real staff shakeup, this after already trading three key pieces away in cornerback Sauce Gardner, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, and cornerback Michael Carter II.
As if the Jets couldn't do their fans any more wrong, the team goes out and does this.
The Jets Did What?!
A Christmas Day report from The New York Post claims that the team had previously invited season ticketholder Ashley Castanio-Gervasi to take part in a $100,000 field goal challenge during halftime of Sunday's game against the AFC East-leading New England Patriots.
The outlet reports that Castanio-Gervasi, who attends games in honor of her late father, was invited to participate in a competition that ultimately landed her the chance, along with two other finalists, to kick a field goal that would have netted her a $100,000 prize.
The woman, however, tells The Post that the Jets called her on Monday and uninvited her.
The reason?
The team says she's not eligible because she is the varsity head coach of a local high school soccer team.
For their part, the Jets claim they're just following the rules.
“In accordance with competition rules and regulations, one individual who successfully made the qualifying kick will not be able to advance to the final stage of the challenge,” the team told The Post in a statement.
The statement added, "We understand the disappointment associated with this and have made an effort to provide an alternative benefit to show our appreciation."
'Life Changing Money'
“This is life-changing money for me,” the coach told The Post after learning the news that she was suddenly no longer eligible to participate in the field goal contest. “I was confident I could have made it.”
Castanio-Gervasi, a 33-year-old former Stony Brook University goalkeeper and math teacher, said the team called her last week to review the rules before Monday's canceled appearance.
Oddly, it wasn't her college soccer career that disqualified her, she told The Post, but rather her occupation, which is odd since she says the team recruited her for the competition after reading about her in a local newspaper article that noted her occupation as a varsity soccer coach.
What's more, Castanio-Gervasi says a ton of family and friends flew in to watch her performance. The Post reports the team will cover those expenses to make it up to her.
In any event, Castanio-Gervasi will remain a fan, since it runs in the family: she said her late father and grandfather had season tickets at Shea Stadium, and that the family has spent a conservative lifetime estimate of $1 million on the Jets.
A media reporter for Front Office Sports called the Jets' move "Pennywise and pound foolish behavior from the Jets."
One fan commented, "Just let her kick. She's been punished enough being a Jets fan." Another added, "God forbid something exciting happens at MetLife this season."