Jets owner Woody Johnson sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday expressing his disappointment with the scheduling of the team’s first two home games in conflict with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the two holiest holidays in the Jewish calendar.
The Jets are scheduled to play the Patriots on Sept. 20 during Rosh Hashanah and the Titans on Sept. 27 at 4:15, just hours before Yom Kippur, which begins at sundown.
The Giants formally requested that the league not schedule home games for them on those days, but the Jets never put in a request because they believed it was understood. New York has the largest Jewish community in the United States.
“There has long been an understanding that neither the Jets nor the Giants fans should have to bear completely the brunt of this issue since we are in the largest Jewish market in the country,” Johnson’s letter reads.
The Jets requested the starting time against the Titans be moved to 1 p.m., allowing Jewish fans enough time to get home before sundown. A league source said that is an option but it is not likely. If the Jets’ game is moved, the Giants’ 1 p.m. game in Tampa must be changed to 4 p.m., something the Bucs would not be in favor of because of their own Jewish fans.