Bill Belichick Defends Girlfriend Jordon Hudson And Says She Has Nothing 'To Do With UNC Football'

Despite the public scrutiny surrounding his relationship with Jordon Hudson, Bill Belichick has assured UNC football fans that the 24-year-old has nothing to do with the university's acclaimed football program.

Bill Belichick's statement regarding his highly criticized relationship comes days after a sports writer claimed university officials on UNC's campus met in early May and decided to ban Belichick's girlfriend from the team's athletic facilities.

In an interview with SportsCenter, Belichick responded to co-host Christine Williamson's questions about how his relationship might impact UNC's football program.

“I mean, that’s really off to the side. It’s a personal relationship and she doesn’t have anything to do with UNC football,” Belichick, 73, said.

“I'm excited to be back in the coaches meetings and getting ready for June and then August when we get to training camp. So June will be a big recruiting month for us, and then August we'll start getting ready for the season,” he added.

When asked whether he's talked with his players about the headlines surrounding him and the team, Belichick said, “I talked to the players, and when we meet with them when they come in to visit and so forth, sure.”

He added, “Again, we want to make the players the best that they can be, provide them the best opportunity on and off the field, and that's what we're about at UNC, and that's what we're gonna do the best for every single player we have.”

Belichick's defense of his girlfriend arrived days after Pablo Torre, host of "Pablo Torre Finds Out," reported that Hudson had allegedly been barred from UNC's football facilities.

During his podcast, the journalist stated that "higher-ups" at UNC provided him with the information, adding that there was "deep worry for how detrimental Jordon [could] be for" the school's reputation. "Don't think you'll be hearing much from [her] moving forward," a source reportedly said.

A university spokesperson, however, told Chris Vannini from The Athletic that Torre's claim was untrue and that Hudson was "welcome to the Carolina Football facilities."

UNC's athletic director, Bubba Cunningham, also commented on the drama surrounding Belichick and praised the former NFL coach for his professionalism and ability to create a winning culture.

"Bill's been great to work with," Cunningham told ESPN. "He talked about practicing like a pro, and he runs a professional organization that is teaching students how to be professional in all aspects of their life. He is a very determined, professional individual, and that's the way he carries himself and the way he conducts the program."

When asked whether he believed Belichick would be impacted by outside chatter, Cunningham said, "Bill is an incredibly focused person."

Former New England Patriots player Rob Gronkowski expressed different sentiments on the matter earlier this week.

While appearing on The Sports Hub radio show, Gronk recalled Belichick's advice about eliminating anything that could cloud a player's vision.

"You know, and in the back of your head, too, you're just thinking to yourself as well, 'When you were on the Patriots, the whole goal was to eliminate all the distractions that can possibly happen while you're on the team," he said, adding, "And don't bring those distractions to the team and in the locker room, and we're just looking down at the program in North Carolina, and it feels like there are just distractions 24/7 down there. There's no football talk as well."

Former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman also weighed in on the headlines, defending his former coach and Hudson.

"People are giving an unfair reality of what's going on," Edelman said about Hudson and Belichick's infamous CBS interview, in which the pageant contestant interrupted journalist Tony Dokoupil to shut down a question about their relationship.

"She was jumping into that conversation during the interview just like any PR person would jump in when there's an unnecessary question that probably didn't go over in the pre-production meeting," he continued.

However, his remarks didn't go over well with users online.

"This is embarrassing, Julian," one online commenter said. "Would be better to say nothing than to bend over backwards defending it."

"Respect the loyalty, Jules, but this ain't a good look for Bill," another user said, while a third added, "I don't know about this one, fellas."