The Pro Football Hall of Fame has issued a statement amid the backlash of Bill Belichick’s reported omission from the 2026 induction class.

Belichick, a winner of eight Super Bowls, including six during his time as head coach of the New England Patriots, fell short of the 40 votes needed from the 50-person selection committee to be inducted in his first year of eligibility. A coach finalist, Belichick was competing for votes with Patriots owner Robert Kraft (the lone contributor finalist) and senior finalists Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood. Voters could cast votes for three of the five finalists, and Belichick’s snub has become a major source of controversy.

Along with reinforcing the importance of the voting process, the Hall stressed that “action will be taken” if one or multiple voters committed a violation of the selection process.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame understands and respects the passionate reaction of many fans, media members and enshrinees of the Hall itself in light of published reports regarding the voting results for the Class of 2026.

It’s that very passion that propels the game.

The Hall also respects the members of the Selection Committee when they follow the selection process bylaws. It is an honor to serve as a selector.

Each year, the Hall reviews the selection process and the composition of the 50-person Selection Committee. If it is determined that any member(s) violated the selection process bylaws, they understand action will be taken.

That could include the possibility that such selector(s) would not remain a member of the committee moving forward.

The selection of a new class is the most important duty the Hall of Fame oversees each year, and the integrity of that process cannot be in question.

The Hall did not mention Belichick by name or identify which selection process bylaws may have been broken. One violation, for example, would be making a decision on a candidate based on non-football reasons. That does not, however, include Spygate, the Patriots’ sign-stealing scandal that resulted in both Belichick and the Patriots receiving unprecedented fines by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in 2007. So while Spygate is considered a valid reason to not give Belichick a vote, not giving him one because of a personal vendetta would be considered a violation of the bylaws. Spygate has been pointed to as a potential reason Belichick did not earn enshrinement in his first year of eligibility. 

Bill Polian, a Hall of Fame general manager and member of the selection committee, reportedly told others that he believed that Belichick should “wait a year” before getting inducted as penance for Spygate. Polian has denied doing this. 

“That’s totally and categorically untrue,” he said. “I voted for him.” 

Tom Brady, Robert Kraft denounce Bill Belichick’s first-ballot Hall of Fame snub: ‘I don’t understand it’

Carter Bahns

Belichick’s omission from this year’s Hall of Fame class has triggered a slew of emotional responses from notable figures in both the NFL and in other sports, including one from his former quarterback, Tom Brady. 

“I don’t understand it,” Brady said. “I was with him every day. If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Which is completely ridiculous, because people deserve it. He’s incredible. There’s no coach I’d rather play for. If I’m taking one coach to go out there to win a Super Bowl, give me one season, I’m taking Bill Belichick. So that’s enough said.”

Kraft also spoke out in defense of Belichick. 

“Whatever perceptions may exist about any personal differences between Bill and me, I strongly believe Bill Belichick’s record and body of work speak for themselves,” Kraft told the Associated Press. “As head coach of the New England Patriots for more than two decades, he set the standard for on-field excellence, preparation, and sustained success in the free agency and salary cap era of the National Football League. He is the greatest coach of all time and he unequivocally deserves to be a unanimous first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer.”

Belichick, 73, set a head coaching record with six Super Bowl wins and added two more as an assistant, leads all coaches with 12 Super Bowl appearances, ranks second all time with 333 career wins and holds more playoff victories (31) than any coach in league history.

Jason Williams’ game-worn home white Sacramento Kings jersey from the lockout-shortened 1998-99 NBA season, Williams’ rookie year, has sold privately for $140,000. It’s the most spent on any Williams item.

Authentication and photo-matching company MeiGray, aided by a letter from Williams’ father, authenticated the jersey in December 2023 and matched it to more than half a dozen games from the 1998-99 season, including Williams’ first preseason game as a professional and Game 3 of the Western Conference first round against the Utah Jazz.

“We have only photo-matched one white and one black game-worn Jason Williams rookie season jersey,” said Barry Meisel, MeiGray’s president and chief operating officer. “This was still the era where players had one or two jerseys a season — and a rookie jersey is about as good as it gets in the game-worn hobby.”

MeiGray sold the jersey to an anonymous buyer represented by fine arts and collectibles advisory firm Curio Advisors, who count clients ranging from entrepreneurs and individual art collectors to financial funds and even nation-states starting to wade into sports memorabilia investing.

“There are people out there who are really interested in the culture around Jason Williams,” said Curio Advisors founder and CEO Bradley Calleja. “He was top-five in jersey sales his rookie year — everybody’s seen his highlight tape — but when it comes to his [game-worn] jerseys out there, there’s only a couple and this is the only white one that we’ve had.”

It’s the same jersey Williams wore while being photographed for the cover of the August 1999 issue of Slam, which David Schnur, president of Slam Media, said is one of the most revered covers in the history of the magazine.

“Penny [Hardaway] and Shaq[uille O’Neal] made the Magic jersey iconic; [Michael] Jordan and [Scottie] Pippen made the Bulls jersey iconic; Muggsy Bogues, Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning made the Hornets jersey ironic,” Schnur said. “Jason Williams did that for the Kings.”

Williams was shocked when the news of the sale reached him.

“It’s crazy to me, the prices on merchandise, cards, things like that … but it’s pretty cool that somebody’s got that kind of money to spend on my raggedy-ass jersey,” Williams tells ESPN. “I need all my teammates’ numbers on that jersey, too. Without them teammates, there’s no 55. I’m just thankful, brother.”

He said he hopes the buyer will consider being a guest on his Barstool podcast Hoopin’ N Hollerin’ with Patrick Beverley and Rone.

“I would never fathom somebody buying my jersey for whatever they bought it for,” he says. “I’d like to meet the guy who bought the jersey.”