Hall pass denied: Bill Belichick snub sparks a bigger debate

Even with the Super Bowl 10 days away, it’s the news of Bill Belichick not being elected to the Hall of Fame that’s dominating the sports world.

The general consensus is that Belichick will eventually get in. In 20 years, not many people will remember he wasn’t a first-ballot selection. But, for the time being, many fans, analysts, and players are voicing that the Hall’s Selection Committee should be ashamed of itself.

When a résumé like Belichick’s can’t be ignored, it’s fair to wonder whether the snub had less to do with football evaluation, and more to do with politics and pettiness.

ESPN reported that a source familiar with Belichick explained that the coach believed just that: “politics is what kept him out of the Hall of Fame, and he doesn’t think the outcome reflects his on-field accomplishments.”

The Ringer’s Riley McAtee wrote that if some voters kept him out simply because they didn’t like him,, “then they aren’t taking their responsibility to, in the words of the Hall, enshrine ‘the finest the game has produced’ seriously.”

For some, though, like Boston sports radio host Michael Felger, the gold jacket snub isn’t that hard to believe.

“You get what you give, and Bill got what he gave, frankly.” He added, “I ain’t shedding any tears for Bill Belichick, who spent his entire life, his entire professional career managing on personal biases, and petty jealousies, and vendettas, and cronyism, and axes to grind, and in the end that came back and got him.”

Many reports suggest the snub was heavily tied to the Spygate scandal from 2007. After an investigation, the NFL found that the Patriots had been filming opposing teams’ signals from unauthorized locations.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson called the justification “ridiculous,” saying, “Many teams (including ourselves) tried it.. Howard Mudd at Kansas City, who later coached for Bill Polian and Tony Dungy, gave us the idea.”

Coincidentally, both Polian and Dungy are part of the Selection Committee, and both are certainly not buddy-buddy with Belichick. Polian was routinely the ant beneath Belichick’s boot while he was the general manager for the Colts from 1998 to 2011. Dungy was the Colts’ head coach for most of those years. Belichick and Brady bounced Polian, Dungy, and Peyton Manning from the playoffs multiple times.

Hours after the news broke on Tuesday that Belichick wasn’t getting in, it was reported that Polian told SI.com that he voted for Belichick. Then Polian told ESPN that he doesn’t remember “with 100 percent certainty” whether he voted for Belichick.

Many analysts, including ESPN’s Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, are demanding that Selection Committee members reveal their votes.

“This is not nuclear physics or some major project with the United States - put your name to it. If you didn’t vote for Belichick - put your name to it and show us why.” He went on, “Show some guts. Don’t hide from it like this is a secret. No, it’s not. This is sports.”

The Hall of Fame released a statement on Wednesday saying that if members want to do that, they shouldn’t expect to be welcomed back.

“Each year, the Hall reviews the selection process and the composition of the 50-person Selection Committee. If it is determined that any member(s) violated the selection process bylaws, they understand that regular-seasonaction will be taken. That could include the possibility that such selector(s) would not remain a member of the committee moving forward.”

As a head coach, “the Hoodie” appeared in 9 Super Bowls, winning 6. His 302 regular-season wins rank third all-time, while his 31 playoff wins are number one. He led the Patriots to 17 division titles in 24 seasons. Before that, he helped the Giants win 2 Super Bowls as the defensive coordinator.

During his time in New England, Belichick wasn’t just the head coach; he was also the general manager. He was the final voice for draft selections, trades, and free agent signings. He also negotiated contracts. On the field, he was a coach. In the office, he was a businessman.

Football runs in his blood: he was named after his godfather, College Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Edwards. Belichick’s father, Steve, played one season with the Detroit Lions under Edwards in 1941. While his father was a coach at the Naval Academy, Bill was never far from his side. His father showed him everything: how to break down film, how to draw up a play, and how to strategize. After coaching, his father pivoted to scouting, another angle of the game that Bill learned.

Few people speak about the sport and its history with more passion than Belichick. He is the ultimate fan and ambassador. If you catch him in a good mood and ask the right question, he will talk about a specific aspect of football with intense reverence.

In November 2015, it took six minutes and 925 words for Belichick to explain the strategic differences between having a 46-man roster, a 53-man roster, and a 90-man roster. Early in the 2021 season, when asked about why teams have to use a roster spot on a long snapper, he spoke for more than nine minutes and covered more than 1,500 words.

For some, not letting him into the Hall of Fame doesn’t punish Belichick — it only punishes the sport. Keeping him out of the place that honors figures like him could be seen as a slap in the face to those enshrined. It also damages the credibility of the induction process itself. When greatness this obvious is delayed, it begs the question: is the problem the candidate, or is the problem the people deciding the candidate?

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