Belichick Defends Girlfriend After Infamous CBS Interview

Bill Belichick is defending himself and his girlfriend after a routine book-tour interview with CBS turned into a PR fiasco. The interview drew much attention when Jordon Hudson, the 24-year-old girlfriend of the 73-year-old Belichick, interrupted from off-camera to stop a question about where they met. Key points in the aftermath:

• Belichick said CBS "selectively edited" the interview to "suggest a false narrative—that Jordon was attempting to control the conversation—which is simply not true."

• "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."
• Belichick said he thought the interview was supposed to focus only on the book, and both he and Hudson kept trying to keep interviewer Tony Dokoupil from straying. Her off-camera interruption should be seen in that context, he says.
• CBS released a statement denying it agreed to limit its questions, reports USA Today. "There were no preconditions or limitations," it says. "This was confirmed repeatedly with his publisher before the interview took place and after it was completed."
• Belichick, about to start his first season as coach of the University of North Carolina, continues to endure criticism over the controversy. "There used to be a Bill Belichick 'brand,'" writes Steve Buckley at the Athletic. "Grumpy. Rumpled. Genius. Now there's a Bill Belichick-Jordon Hudson brand. We're on to 'awkward.'" And at Awful Announcing, Ben Axelrod writes that this raises questions about what Hudson's pseudo-official role is in regard to Belichick's job at UNC.

(More Bill Belichick stories.)