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Bill Belichick’s much-discussed romance with Jordon Hudson returned to center stage following a high-profile television interview.
Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, was accused of attempting to assert her control during the former NFL coach’s sit-down with “CBS News Sunday Morning.” The interview was part of a promotional tour for Bilichick’s new book, “The Art of Winning — Lessons from My Life in Football.”
Figures across the sports world and beyond have shared their thoughts in the days since the scrutinized interview. On Wednesday, former NBA star and current broadcaster Charles Barkley became one of the latest to weigh in on the situation.
During an interview with longtime sports broadcaster Dan Patrick, Barkley described Belichick as one of his “really good friends.”
“Well, this is a very slippery subject for me, because Bill’s one of my really good friends,” Barkley told Patrick. “I don’t — I’m not sure what’s going on. You know, he’s been a great friend for me for a long time. We’ve been friends since he coached for the Browns. I think he’s got to be very careful right now. This is starting to be on a very slippery slope.”
BILL BELICHICK BREAKS SILENCE ON INTERVIEW DEBACLE
Barkley also cautioned that he typically avoids pubically addressing personal relationships. But, he did raise concerns about “some of the stuff” happening between Belichick and Hudson, saying it might prompt him to make contact with the North Carolina football head coach.
“He’s the greatest football coach ever. Him and Nick Saban. For college, Nick Saban. For Bill, the NFL. Yeah, from what I’m hearing, it’s starting to be a very slippery slope. And I never talk about people’s personal relationship. That’s another rule I got. But I will admit, I’m a little concerned with some of the stuff that’s going on, and I might actually reach out to him and make sure everything’s good, but I am concerned from what I’m hearing, because, yeah, it’s not a good look right now. I’ll admit that.”
A question during the recent interview with CBS about how Belichick and Hudson initially met quickly turned heads. “We’re not talking about this,” Hudson said before Belichick responded.
After the interview, Belichick claimed some interview preconditions were not upheld.
“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,” a statement from Belichick read. “Unfortunately, that expectation was not honored during the interview.”
The six-time Super Bowl-winning coach also took aim at CBS’ Tony Dokoupil, accusing him of bringing up “unrelated topics,” which Belichick claimed prompted Hudson to speak out during the interview.
“I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book,” the statement added. “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.”
Hudson has also appeared to have a hand in Belichick’s career. She’s faced criticism over her reported involvement in North Carolina losing out on the opportunity to be featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” According to The Athletic, Hudson had an “instrumental role” in HBO plugging the plug on the potential production of the UNC-focused docuseries.
The report also noted that Hudson had asked to be “heavily involved with the project.”
Belichick, 73, has been publicly linked to the 24-year-old Hudson since 2023. He said he met Hudson on a flight in 2021.
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