I’ve never been a fan of the New England Patriots—probably because they won so many Super Bowls while the New York football teams wallowed in misery. Rooting for New England would be like rooting for the Boston Red Sox when you’re a diehard New York Yankees fan, which I am. So, I shed no tears shed when New England lost the Super Bowl this month.
But despite my dislike for the Patriots, there is something very wrong with former Patriots coach Bill Belichick being overlooked in his first year of eligibility for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Longtime Patriots owner Rober Kraft, who first became eligible 13 years ago, was also shunned again by Hall of Fame voters. Both fell short of getting the required 40 out of 50 votes necessary for induction, but the snub set off a torrent of public controversy about the voting process.
Critics say the current voting structure is ludicrous. Would Michael Jordan have not made the basketball Hall of Fame on first try? Would Derek Jeter have been turned down by baseball on his initial eligibility? Of course not. Statistically both were a lock.
Numbers don’t lie. Belichick won 333 games, including six Super Bowls as coach of the Patriots and two more before that as defense coordinator for the New York Giants. His win total is the second all-time high and during his 18 years as the Patriots’ head coach he took his teams to nine Super Bowls. Kraft has owned the Patriots since 1994 boosting the franchise from relative obscurity by drafting legendary players into the fold, such as quarterback Tom Brady.
Sure, there have been some negative aspects of their careers. Belichick and the Patriots organization were fined in 2007 for videotaping opposing coaches’ signals during games, an incident the press corps termed “Spygate.” Although videotaping isn’t illegal in the NFL, it must be done in authorized sideline locations. Opposing coaches involved at the time said they doubted the videotaping offered any benefit to the Patriots.
Then there was Deflategate—a far cry from Watergate, but controversial, nonetheless. According to league rules, each team provides 12 footballs to be used on offense for every game, and footballs must be inflated to a minimum of 12 pounds per square inch. The softer the ball, the better a quarterback can grip and throw it, especially in wet weather. Under cold, wet conditions in 2015, New England won a critical playoff game.
Spot checks by league officials during the game found a few of the Patriots footballs were below 12 psi. The team was fined in the scandal and quarterback Brady was suspended for four games. But experts also pointed out that the pressure in a football, or any ball, is affected by temperature. Many of us have found this out this winter when our car tires lost pressure while sitting outside, and then increased in pressure when the rubber hit the highway.
Despite past misdeeds, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who imposed penalties in both scandals, recently said there’s no doubt both men should be enshrined into the Hall of Fame.
Perhaps the biggest deterrent for Belichick garnering enough votes for induction relates to his tepid relationship with sportswriters, who cast the votes that determine Hall of Fame inductees. Belichick wasn’t a favorite among reporters. He tended to be cantankerous and curt in with his responses to questions, which didn’t make for great copy. Belichick contended the press wrote what it wanted, so he was increasingly reluctant to engage in long-winded interviews.
There’s no way to know if that that affected the count because specific votes by Hall of Fame members are kept secret, unlike baseball and basketball where voting members fill out their ballot, sign it and send it in. And there are no informal meetings beforehand to discuss, and perhaps persuade others to vote for certain candidates. In baseball and basketball, there are also no upper limita as to how many players can be enshrined each year.
Football limits its induction class to five players each year, with a maximum of three others candidates: coaches, contributors (such as Kraft) OR senior players (those out of football for at least 25 years). The voting system, in essence, pitted Belichick against Kraft.
Only Roger Craig, who last played in 2000, received enough votes in that group and he will be enshrined next August along with five players in the Hall of Fame ceremony in Canton Ohio. The limit on new inductees each year has already created a huge backlog of truly deserving players and coaches.
The time is long overdue for the Pro Football Hall of Fame to revamp its antiquated election process. Unfortunately, the system now caters to the self-serving interests of those who vote, instead of recognizing those who deserve the sport’s highest honor.
Dave Dunleavy was a longtime reporter and columnist for The News-Times in Danbury. He lives in Kent. His column “View from the Front Porch” runs monthly.
