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One of the first known voters not to select Bill Belichick as a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer has explained his choice.
Kansas City Stars Vahe Gregorian wrote a Wednesday column revealing he was one of at least 11 Hall of Fame voters who did not check off Belichick, shocking the football world when the news broke Tuesday.
While that report stated Belichick’s involvement in scandals with the New England Patriots such as Spygate and Deflategate, Gregorian, who has covered the league for nearly 40 years, said that was not his reasoning for leaving the coach without a vote.
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Then-New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was denied entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first time on the ballot. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
Gregorian said the “curious selection dynamic” from the floor led him to cast his votes elsewhere.
To further explain, Belichick was part of a five-person pool separate from the 15-person modern ballot, where each voter is tasked with selecting only three members to enter the Hall. Among them are three senior candidates, one contributor and one coach.
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Belichick was the coach on this year’s ballot, while Patriots owner Robert Kraft happened to be the contributor nominee.
But Gregorian explained why he chose to cast his three votes on the three senior members – Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and LC Greenwood – all of whom he believed deserved a seat in Canton.
Gregorian said he felt “obliged” to cast his votes for the senior candidates, believing they may be looking at their last chances to enter the chamber.
“All three have long deserved induction into the Hall,” he wrote in his column. “All three have been rejected for decades.”
A longtime NFL reporter revealed why he didn’t check off Belichick’s name on his ballot for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Gregorian’s thought process was that Belichick would inevitably get in, but seeing that he didn’t get the required 80% of the vote on his first ballot, the veteran writer understood the vitriol and backlash received when the news broke.
“At the risk of contradicting my own voice, indeed, [Belichick] shouldn’t even wait,” Gregorian’s column read. “I understand why people are offended that he doesn’t go the first moment he can.
“I felt more compelled by what I perceive to be last chances and looming lost causes in the system as we have it — a system that I hope the Hall will see fit to change now.”
Kraft called Belichick the “greatest coach ever,” while Tom Brady said he couldn’t understand why his old mentor in Foxborough, Mass., isn’t going to Canton, Ohio, this summer.
Many others, including Patrick Mahomes, JJ Watt, Ryan Clark and Pat McAfee, all shared their disbelief after reading the news.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft and others have called Belichick the “greatest coach ever.” (Steven Senne, File/AP Photo)
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Belichick has the second most wins by a head coach all-time, behind only the great Don Shula. He won six Super Bowls in New England and two while defensive coordinator with the New York Giants.
While Gregorian was brave enough to face the backlash, it remains to be seen if the other writers who didn’t vote for Belichick will come forward.
