Following the less-than-stellar interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Bill Belichick defends his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.
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During the interview, the former New England Patriots coach was asked about his relationship with Hudson. When journalist Tony Dokoupil asked how the couple met, Hudson awkwardly shot down the question by declaring, “We’re not talking about this.”
Dokoupil then asked her, “No?” and she responded, “No.”
Days after the interview aired, Belichick released a statement about the moment, standing up for Hudson. He stated that the purpose of the interview was to promote his book, The Art of Winning.
“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,” he explained. “Unfortunately, that expectation was not honored during the interview.”
He shared, “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.”
Belichick stated Hudson’s actions were to help turn the conversation back to his 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.”
He further shared that Hudson was not “deflecting” any specific question or topic. She was “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,” he said. “But we have been open about the fact that Jordon and I met on a flight to Palm Beach in 2021.”
He then noted that the final eight-minute segment does not reflect the “productive 35-minute conversation they had.
CBS News Responds to Bill Belichick’s Statement
Just after Bill Belichick released his statement, CBS News spoke out about the interview.
“When we agreed to speak to Mr. Belichick, it was for a wide-ranging interview,” the media outlet stated. “There were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation. This was confirmed repeatedly with his publisher before the interview took place and after it was completed.”
Belichick’s literary agent, InkWell Management, further spoke out. The company claimed the segment resulted in a “raft of hostile social media posts” about the football coach’s personal life.
“Bill has written an authoritative and entertaining book about success that should be judged by its contents,” InkWell Management stated. “Not by the clicks generated by the segment.”
The book is set to be released on May 6.