Belichick defends girlfriend over interview fallout
Published
North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick says that his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, didn't attempt to derail an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning's Tony Dokoupil this past weekend.
Belichick, 73, released a statement on Wednesday indicating that clips from the interview that surfaced on social media were selectively edited. The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach says the interview was supposed to strictly deal with his new book, The Art of Winning - Lessons from My Life in Football.
"Unfortunately, that expectation was not honoured during the interview," Belichick said. "I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book. After this occurred several times, Jordon, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion. She was not deflecting any specific question or topic but simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track. Some of the clips make it appear as though we were avoiding the question of how we met, but we have been open about the fact that Jordon and I met on a flight to Palm Beach in 2021.
The clip that went viral saw Dokoupil ask Belichick how he and the 24-year-old Hudson met, but before he could answer, Hudson interjected.
"We not talking about this," she said from the nearby producer's table.
"The final eight-minute segment does not reflect the productive 35-minute conversation we had, which covered a wide range of topics related to my career," Belichick continued. "Instead, it presents selectively edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of the interview to suggest a false narrative – that Jordon was attempting to control the conversation – which is simply not true."
Belichick was hired this past December to succeed Mack Brown as Tar Heels head coach. While the Nashville native has 29 years of NFL coaching experience, including 24 with the New England Patriots, Belichick has never coached at the collegiate level.
The Tar Heels are coming off of a 6-7 campaign that saw them go 3-5 in conference play. North Carolina has not won an ACC title since 1980.