Matt Schooley is a digital producer at CBS Boston. He has been a member of the WBZ news team for the last decade.
News broke Tuesday night that former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was snubbed in his first year as a candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Reaction of shock and anger has poured in since from the football world and beyond, including from President Donald Trump.
CBS Sports confirmed that Belichick will not be a first ballot Hall of Fame selection when the class is revealed to the public on February 5. ESPN broke the news that Belichick received a call on Friday that he did not receive enough votes.
President Trump on Bill Belichick snub
Among those outraged by Belichick being left out was Mr. Trump.
“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!” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social.
Belichick and Mr. Trump have a friendship that dates back decades. The night before the 2016 presidential election, Mr. Trump read a letter from Belichick endorsing him during a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire. The night before the 2024 election, Mr. Trump joined Belichick on his podcast.
NFL world reacts to Hall of Fame vote
The president was far from the only one upset that Belichick will not be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.
Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson posted multiple times throughout the night, calling for voters who left Belichick off their ballot to identify themselves.
“I would like to know the names of the [a——-] who did not vote for him..they are too cowardly to identify themselves…” Johnson posted on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter.
Former Texans star JJ Watt, now an analyst for CBS Sports, sounded off as well.
“I can’t be reading this right. This has to be some knock-off Hall of Fame or something, it can’t be the actual NFL Hall of Fame. There is not a single world whatsoever in which Bill Belichick should not be a First-Ballot Hall of Famer,” Watt posted.
“Dumbest [s—] we will see all 2026!!!” wrote Devin McCourty, who played for Belichick with the Patriots.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wrote, “Insane… don’t even understand how this could be possible.” NBA superstar LeBron James weighed in as well.
Who votes for the Hall of Fame?
The Pro Football Hall of Fame website lays out details about the committee that snubbed Belichick, including a list of names. For New England, former newspaper writer Ron Borges, now with the Talk of Fame Network, is a voter.
“The Committee consists of one media representative from each pro football city with two each from Los Angeles and New York, inasmuch as those cities have two teams in the National Football League. A 33rd member is a representative of the Pro Football Writers of America, and there are up to 17 at-large delegates,” the website reads.
The Hall of Fame does not release the specific results of who voted for each candidate. But many of the voters have already revealed that they voted for Belichick. Still, he fell at least 11 votes short.
One voter whose opinion has come into focus has been former Indianapolis Colts general manager and president Bill Polian, who was a longtime rival of the Patriots. According to ESPN, Polian told some voters that Belichick should be forced to wait a year to be inducted as punishment for the Spygate and Deflategate scandals.
Polian gave two seemingly conflicting interviews after the news broke Tuesday night. First, he told SI Now that it was “categorically untrue” that he led a charge against Belichick, adding that he voted for him. Later, Polian told ESPN he “could not remember with 100% certainty” if he voted for Belichick.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft is a finalist for the Hall of Fame this year, along with former New England kicker Adam Vinatieri. The results are officially announced during the NFL Honors broadcast during Super Bowl week.
