Add President Donald Trump to the long list of football fans who can’t understand why legendary New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick didn’t make the cut for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as the Patriots head coach and two more as New York Giants defensive coordinator, failed to receive the required 40 out of 50 votes to be inducted into Canton in his first year of eligibility.
Comparing the Hall of Fame election to the NFL’s new kickoff rule, Trump stated in a social media post on Wednesday, Jan. 28:
‘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. Both are ridiculous and should be overturned!’
Trump is a longtime friend of Patriots owner Robert Kraft, with their relationship dating back to the 1990s when Kraft first purchased the team.
Kraft donated to Trump’s first inauguration and was part of a Rose Garden ceremony with Belichick and the Patriots three months later in celebration of their victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51.
Trump had also planned to award Belichick the Presidential Medal of Freedom − the nation’s highest civilian honor − in 2021, but Belichick declined to accept the award in the wake of the Jan. 6 riots.
‘Above all, I’m an American citizen with great reverence for our nation’s values, freedom and democracy,’ Belichick said at the time.
