‘Ridiculous’: Trump Disgusted With Bill Belichick Hall Of Fame Snub

It’s not too often you have President Donald Trump and LeBron James agreeing, but when it comes to Bill Belichick getting left out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the two are very much on the same page.

Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl Championship head coach of the New England Patriots, is not a First-Ballot Hall-of-Famer, meaning the storied NFL coach didn’t get into the elite club the first year he was eligible.

“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,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Both are ridiculous and should be overturned!”

Sharing a similar sentiment, James aired his grievances about the HOF snub on X.

“Man there’s no way I read that right! Right? Ain’t no WAY Bill Belichick ain’t 1st Ballot HOF!!” James said. “That’s IMPOSSIBLE, EGREGIOUS, and quite frankly DISRESPECTFUL!”

The President and NBA legend were far from outliers on the issue. Belichick’s exclusion from the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year is puzzling to many. He has a total of eight Super Bowl rings, including the two he won as defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells.

Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes called the snub “insane,” adding that he could not “understand how this could be possible.”

Belichick didn’t meet the 40-vote threshold needed for induction into the Hall, per ESPN. The outlet said Belichick was told directly from the Hall that he didn’t make it on Friday.

Belichick responded by saying, “Six Super Bowls isn’t enough?” when he heard the news, according to ESPN.

One source told ESPN that “politics” were involved in the snub. “Politics kept him out. He doesn’t believe this is a reflection on his accomplishments,” the source told ESPN. Belichick didn’t respond to the outlet’s request for comment.

A spokesperson for the Pro Football Hall of Fame did provide ESPN with a comment on Belichick’s ballot absence.

“The Pro Football Hall of Fame does not comment on the voting of the Selection Committee and awaits the unveiling of the Class of 2026 at ‘NFL Honors’ on Feb. 5 in San Francisco,” a spokesperson said.

Voters for the Pro Football Hall of Fame are mostly longtime NFL reporters. But other voters include former NFL general manager Bill Polian and legendary head coach Tony Dungy. They are both in the Hall of Fame.

Polian finds himself in the middle of this debacle as ESPN reported the former Colts and Bills GM allegedly told some voters he believed Belichick should “wait a year” before being inducted as punishment for Spygate.

Spygate was the 2007 cheating scandal directly tied to Belichick that involved illegally filming opponents’ hand signals during games. The scandal cost the Patriots a first-round draft pick, Belichick was also fined $500,000, and the Patriots organization was also fined $250,000.

Spygate was not the only cheating scandal involving Belichick and the New England Patriots. In 2015, controversy erupted again for Belichick and the Patriots during the Deflategate scandal. The team was implicated for using under-inflated footballs during the AFC Championship game. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was suspended for 4 games for his involvement, and the organization was fined $1 million.

Regardless of the various scandals, Polian quickly changed his tune on Wednesday after that report circulated, telling ESPN that “he could not remember with 100% certainty if he voted for Belichick, saying he was 95% sure he voted for the coach.”

At least 11 voters of the 50 didn’t give Belichick his flowers this year. The coach will most definitely end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but will now have to wait, at least, another 365 days to get that coveted gold jacket.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft is also up for the Hall of Fame this year. Trump and Kraft have been longtime buddies, with Kraft even donating to Trump’s first inauguration.

We only know about Belichick’s ballot situation because of the ESPN story, but if Kraft is also left out of the Hall of Fame this year, Trump will most certainly have something else to say about that as well.