Belichick, 73, has lashed out at CBS for allegedly playing dirty and spreading a “false narrative” when it came to coverage of his 24-year-old partner. The issue started when the former New England Patriots general manager had an interview with CBS Sunday Morning as part of his promotions for his new memoir, The Art of Winning: Lessons from a Life in Football. After the segment aired, Belichick took a swipe at the network and reporter Tony Dokoupil for allegedly veering off course during the interview.
“Prior to this interview, I clearly communicated with my publicist at Simon & Schuster that any promotional interviews I participated in would agree to focus solely on the contents of the book. Unfortunately, that expectation was not honored during the interview,” Belichick said in an emailed statement sent to People via his current employer, the University of North Carolina. According to him, instead of sticking to the X’s and O’s, Dokoupil fumbled into tabloid territory and painted Hudson, who was with him during the interview, in a bad light.
In the released interview, CBS seemingly highlighted the awkward reaction from Belichick and Hudson when asked for details about how they first met — an intriguing question considering the 49-year age gap between the two. The couple raised eyebrows and even received flak online for seemingly evading the inquiry. In particular, Hudson became a hot topic since she was the one to step in and redirect the course of the interview.
Belichick’s attempt at shielding Hudson from the negative press
To clear his girlfriend’s name, Belichick clarified Hudson’s role in the interview. “I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced… 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.” The former collegiate cheerleader used to be the chief operating officer of Belichick Productions (Coach Show), based on her LinkedIn profile.
It’s unclear how involved Hudson is in her beau’s work and business engagements since she’s now the CEO of a self-made holding company. However, considering how Belichick allowed her to take control of the situation during the interview, it seems she has a bigger role in the six-time Super Bowl winner’s life. He even called her his “creative muse” in his book. “She was not deflecting any specific question or topic but simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track,” Belichick clarified.
As for their reaction to the off-topic question, Belichick only had this to say: “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 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.”
However, CBS did not back down from Belichick’s accusations. The network also released a statement to People, maintaining that the interview was intended to be “wide-ranging” and that “there were no preconditions or limitations” before filming. Belichick has yet to respond to CBS’s argument, but that’s the least of his worries for now since Hudson’s also catching heat for retweeting a post suggesting her boyfriend should have “strangled” the reporter.
Published: May 2, 2025 01:21 am