Former Heisman Winner Blasts Bill Belichick's Relationship As A 'Distraction': 'This Ain't A Good Look'

MVP-winning quarterback Cam Newton has criticized former NFL coach Bill Belichick over his relationship with Jordon Hudson.

While most of the criticism about the legendary coach's romance with the former cheerleader has focused on their age gap, Newton rather showed his concern about how it has been a distraction to the University of North Carolina's football team.

Bill Belichick is currently the head coach of the team, which he joined in January after a successful career in the NFL.

Cam Newton has expressed his displeasure over Belichick's romance drama overshadowing the University of North Carolina's football team.

In a recent TikTok clip, Newton recalled how the coach has always been an advocate for avoiding distractions, yet now appears to be causing one himself with his relationship with a former cheerleader.

"I find it extremely interesting for a person who always led with this: 'Do not be a distraction,'" the former Heisman winner said in the clip. "We talking more about Jordon Hudson than talking about who's our starting quarterback. You can't name me three players on North Carolina's roster right now besides Jordon Hudson."

Newton then pointed out that the drama would make recruitment for the team suffer in the long run.

"Now you have that same situation with a 16-year-old that you're trying to recruit. And you got to talk to his momma? This ain't a good look," he added, per the New York Post.

Interestingly, Newton isn't the only footballer to have such an opinion about Belichick's age-gap relationship.

Former Patriots star Julian Edelman also echoed the same sentiments during his appearance on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd."

He said, "The No. 1 thing we used to talk about all the time in New England was distractions. 'Let's not make distractions. The game's already as hard as it is. To prepare for it, to play, to coach.'"

Edelman went on to say that while Belichick initially received an "unfair public opinion" over the drama that began with his disastrous CBS interview, the situation has since changed and has now become a real distraction.

"But now that it's gained and it's snowballed to what it's become right now, where we're talking about it three weeks later, it's become a distraction," Edelman noted. "That's what we all think right now. This is becoming a distraction. We gotta practice what we preach here."

Although some believe that Hudson's influence may extend into Bill Belichick's role as head football coach at UNC, the coach himself disagrees.

In an interview with ESPN host Christine Williamson on Tuesday, Belichick made it clear that his relationship with the 24-year-old beauty pageant contestant has absolutely no bearing on his current coaching responsibilities.

"All the specifics aside, because a lot has come out in the last couple of days, how do you think that that impacts your ability to coach this football team, if at all?" Williamson had asked the legendary coach, per People Magazine.

He then responded, "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's statement seemed to be backed by an anonymous UNC official, who revealed that  Hudson is only "in charge" of overseeing his public image.

"She is very, very involved in the crafting of Bill's projected image, everything you see on Instagram, all of that," the official shared, per New York Post.

"I know it's hard to separate out this image of Bill Belichick and Bill Belichick the North Carolina football coach. But really the football side of Bill and now the public side of Bill have become two different things, and she is in charge of the public side," they added.

Despite the distinction, the UNC official admitted that the dynamics of the arrangement were "odd," adding that the duo simply "decide what they're going to do, and they do it."

Belichick's family is reportedly concerned about Hudson's influence on him.

"There is deep worry for how detrimental Jordon can be for not just North Carolina but Bill's legacy, reputation — everything he has built and worked for over decades," a family source told former ESPN personality Pablo Torre, per Page Six.

Torre noted that "the family has been digging into Jordon Hudson as well in a parallel way. They are also in a rabbit hole."

Despite the mounting criticism, Belichick has stood solidly behind his girlfriend and has acknowledged how close they've grown since they became an item.

He even referred to her as his "muse" and "idea mill" in his recently published book, "The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football."