Bill Belichick Slams CBS Report on Jordon Hudson Relationship

University of North Carolina football head coach Bill Belichick is pushing back after a CBS Sunday Morning segment reignited public scrutiny over his relationship with Jordon Hudson — a former competitive cheerleader who is nearly 50 years his junior.

In a statement issued Tuesday through UNC Chapel Hill’s Office of University Communications, Belichick criticized CBS for what he described as a misleading edit of a 35-minute interview meant to promote his upcoming book, “The Art of Winning – Lessons from My Life in Football.”

What Belichick Had to Say

Belichick claimed that he had made it clear in advance that the interview was to remain focused on the book. Instead, he claims that reporter Tony Dokoupil repeatedly steered the conversation toward his personal life — specifically his relationship with Hudson.

Belichick reiterated in his statement that he and Hudson first connected during a flight to Palm Beach in 2021 and have been “open” about it since. He framed the CBS report as a breach of trust, not only with him but with viewers expecting a more substantive discussion.

Belichick also defended Hudson’s involvement during the interview, noting she was simply helping redirect the conversation as a publicist would.

“The final eight-minute segment does not reflect the productive 35-minute conversation we had,” Belichick said, calling the broadcast “selectively edited” to present a “false narrative.”

Spotlight on Jordon Hudson

Belichick’s relationship with Hudson has been the subject of much scrutiny from the very start, given their five-decade age gap. But in recent months, it’s Hudson’s presence in Belichick’s inner circle that’s drawn media attention.

In March, The Athletic and other news outlets reported that Belichick asked for Hudson to be copied on emails between him and Tar Heels athletics.

This month, the website obtained copies of those mails — including one in which Hudson directs UNC administration to ensure that Belichick’s son, Steve, who serves as the Tar Heels’ defensive coordinator, “should be depicted and represented as his own established, credible entity as opposed to an extension of Bill.”

Hudson is also identified as the chief operating officer of “Belichick Productions,” a company that doesn’t appear to be publicly registered.

The CBS interview only served to deepen the perception that Hudson was leveraging her romantic relationship with the much-older Belichick for financial and professional gain, drawing comparisons to Yoko Ono.

In a new report published today, The Athletic — citing “multiple industry sources — claims that Hudson “played an instrumental role in stopping” an HBO Hard Knocks series on Belichick and UNC football.

Though email correspondence relating to the project obtained by The Athletic doesn’t back up those assertions, the outlet, citing its anonymous sources, says that the discussions ended due to Hudson’s “request to be heavily involved in the project.”

UNC Head Coach Bill Belichick’s Full Statement:

“I agreed to speak with CBS Sunday Morning to promote my new book, “The Art of Winning – Lessons from My Life in Football.” Prior to this interview, 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.

Unfortunately, that expectation was not honored during the interview. I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book. 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. Some of the clips make it appear as though we were avoiding the question of how we met, but we have been open about the fact that Jordon and I met at a flight to Palm Beach in 2021.

The final eight-minute segment does not reflect the productive 35-minute conversation we had, which covered a wide range of topics related to my career. Instead, it presents selectively edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of the interview to suggest a false narrative — that Jordon was attempting to control the conversation — which is simply not true.”