Donald Trump has torn into to Pro Football Hall of Fame voters after Bill Belichick somehow fell short of enshrinement at the first round.
A six-time Super Bowl-winner as a head coach for the New England Patriots after winning two as New York Giants DC, it emerged on Tuesday night that Belichick somehow fell short of the 80% threshold – 40 votes – during a January 13 selection.
It’s a staggering outcome – no head coach has more Super Bowl titles than Belichick in the history of the game.
It prompted Trump to wade in on Truth Social early on Wednesday morning, with the President writing: ‘It is the same mindset that gave pro football the new and unwatchable “Sissy” Kickoff Rule, that made it possible for Bill Belichick to not be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Both are ridiculous and should be overturned!’
Trump has long complained about the recent changes to the NFL’s kickoff rule to reduce high-speed collisions and it seems now, he has something else to criticize football for.
But despite how polarizing the President can be on certain subjects, the football world will likely fall in line with him when it comes to Belichick and the Hall of Fame.
Somehow, Bill Belichick did not enter the Hall of Fame in the first round during a recent vote
Trump slammed the decision and hit out on Truth Social early on Wednesday morning
The full vote tally will not be revealed until February 5 and even then, committee members’ specific selections will remain sealed.
Now the head coach at North Carolina, Belichick was reportedly ‘puzzled’ and ‘disappointed’ after failing to secure the requisite 80-percent of the vote from HOF committee members.
‘Six Super Bowls isn’t enough?’ one source close to Belichick told ESPN. ‘What does a guy have to do?’
The Class of 2026 will be revealed on February 5 in San Francisco ahead of Super Bowl LX but already, it seems certain that they will be overshadowed by the man who isn’t there.
Belichick does have his detractors within the league, though, following several rules violations.
Most notably, there was the infamous 2007 sign-stealing scandal known as Spygate, which resulted in a $500,000 fine for the coach and the loss of a first-round draft pick for the team.
The Deflategate scandal erupted in early 2015 as quarterback Tom Brady was accused of improperly reducing the air pressure in footballs during the 2014 AFC Championship to improve his grip.
Brady was ultimately suspended four games in 2016, while the team was fined $1 million and docked a first- and fourth-round draft pick.
‘The only explanation [for the outcome] was the cheating stuff,’ a veteran Hall voter was quoted as saying by ESPN. ‘It really bothered some of the guys.’
Interestingly, Patriots owner and rumored Belichick-rival Robert Kraft is a finalist for the Hall of Fame.
Although the pair won six Super Bowls together, their relationship reportedly frayed over the years and Kraft warned the Atlanta Falcons against hiring Belichick in 2024, ESPN claimed at the time.
A Patriots spokesperson later denied Kraft ever disparaged Belichick to Falcons owner Arthur Blank.
The Patriots are competing in this season’s Super Bowl – their first since Brady left the team back in 2020.
They take on the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on February 8.
