Why doesn’t Knauer want Crew to taken Hazen’s offer in the beginning of the film?

Why does Hazen’s assistant have that tape recorder with him when Hazen first meets Crewe? I figured it’d end meaning something later, but it never does.

Who’s the guy who does pushups in front of Crewe once or twice? What was the point of this? Was he showing off to Crewe, or something?

It makes no sense that they’d let a five-time killer like Connie Schuckner learn karate AFTER he is sent to prison.

I didn’t understand the sequence where Knauer tells Unger that Crewe “got to the warden” and “blew the whistle on Unger specifically.” Blew the whistle about what? Why is Unger to be put back in the general population?

Luigi said: Why doesn’t Knauer want Crew to take Hazen’s offer in the beginning of the film?
I watched this movie with my wife tonight, and she asked the same question. I thought it was because Knauer was being prideful -- he didn't want a convict (Crewe) second-guessing decisions he made as coach. (Remember, at this time, the warden's offer was not to stage a tune-up game, but to have Crewe review game films and perhaps attend practices.) The background dialogue between Knauer and Hazen while Crewe was flirting with the secretary seemed to back this up.

Why does Hazen’s assistant have that tape recorder with him when Hazen first meets Crewe? I figured it’d end up meaning something later, but it never does.
He also carried it in other scenes. Good question.

Who’s the guy who does pushups in front of Crewe once or twice? What was the point of this? Was he showing off to Crewe, or something?
I thought he was showing off his physical prowess in front of a star athlete. Perhaps he saw Crewe as someone who could challenge whatever respect or position he held among the inmates. Further, many of the inmates were shown as being "not all there," and this could be another example.

I didn’t understand the sequence where Knauer tells Unger that Crewe “got to the warden” and “blew the whistle on Unger specifically.” Blew the whistle about what?
Unger had been watching Crewe's practices and reporting back to Knauer on his progress. At one point, Scarborough was shown watching Unger as he left a practice. When Crewe met with Hazen, he requested private practices, specifically without Unger in the stands.