Belichick and Kraft Left Out of the Hall of Fame
The Football world was rocked when former Patriots Coach Bill Belichick and current Patriots owner Robert Kraft were left out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in a class that featured Larry Fitzgerald and Drew Brees. According to an ESPN report by Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham, former Colts GM Bill Poilan successfully lobbied that Belichick should have to wait a year because of the Spygate and Deflategate scandals. Poilan said he didn’t even remember if he voted for Belichick or not. The circumstances surrounding Kraft are not as clear. Speculation suggests that Deflategate and Spygate were reasons why he was also left out.
The snub has stirred uproar across the Sports world, especially in the NFL, with players like Tom Brady commenting. Even non-NFL players like LeBron James commented on the matter. The Pro Football Hall of Fame has responded to the controversy by saying they will review their process for electing candidates.
There was some speculation, according to The Guardian, that Kraft lobbied for Belichick to stay out, but the report said his exclusion would disprove that. Kraft has also denied being on bad terms with Belichick. In a dig at Kraft, however, Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, wore a shirt from the same Florida spa Kraft was at when arrested in 2019 for soliciting prostitution.
