Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – NFL quarterback great Tom Brady, who teamed with Bill Belichick to win six Super Bowls with New England, is the latest to slam the coach’s reported snub by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. One day after ESPN reported that Belichick had failed to be elected to the Hall in his first year of eligibility, Brady called the decision “ridiculous.”
“I don’t understand it,” Brady said in an interview on Wednesday with Seattle Sports 710-AM radio. “I mean, I was with him every day. If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, which is completely ridiculous because people deserve it.” Brady and Belichick brought six Super Bowl titles to the franchise. Belichick also won two Super Bowl titles as defensive coordinator for the New York Giants.
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Entering the Hall of Fame on the first ballot — the earliest opportunity — is traditionally seen as an honor reserved for the elite of the NFL, in recognition of an individual’s status as one of the game’s all-time greats. But ESPN reported that Belichick failed to secure the required 40 of 50 votes to enter the Hall of Fame as a first-ballot inductee. “He’s incredible. There’s no coach I’d rather play for,” Brady said. “If I’m picking one coach to go out there to win a Super Bowl — give me one season — I’m taking Bill Belichick. So that’s enough said.”
Belichick, 73, is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches in the history of the NFL, but his career was also tinged with controversy, notably the 2007 “Spygate” scandal, when he was fined a record $500,000 after the Patriots were caught illegally filming signals by opposing coaches during games. Belichick’s Patriots were also caught in the “Deflategate” scandal in 2015, when quarterback Brady was eventually suspended for ordering the deliberate deflation of game balls to make them easier to manipulate.
ESPN reported that those two scandals had come up during deliberations amongst Hall of Fame voters at a meeting on January 13. “It really bothered some of the guys,” one of the Hall of Fame voters was quoted by the network as saying. Brady said he was confident that Belichick would eventually be enshrined. “When it does happen, he’s gonna have a huge turnout from so many players, coaches that appreciated everything that he did and the commitment that he made to winning, and the impact that he had on all our lives,” Brady said.
– Hall responds – ESPN, citing friends of the veteran coach who left the Pats in 2024, reported that Belichick was “puzzled” and “disappointed” by the snub. “Insane…don’t even understand how this could be possible,” star Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes wrote on X. Former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith called for those who voted against Belichick to be barred from voting in the future.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame released a statement late Wednesday addressing possible punishment for selectors who violated bylaws but did not mention Belichick by name. The statement said the Hall “understands and respects the passionate reaction of many fans, media members and enshrinees of the Hall itself in light of published reports regarding the voting results of the Class of 2026. It’s that very passion that propels the game.”
The Hall said if any member of the 50-person selection panel “violated the selection process bylaws, they understand action will be taken. That could include the possibility that such selector(s) would not remain a member of the committee moving forward.” The selection of a new class is the most important duty the Hall of Fame oversees each year, and the integrity of that process cannot be in question.
© 2024 AFP
