Bill Belichick’s girlfriend Jordon Hudson is taking an active role in shaping the communications strategy at UNC. Hudson — who Belichick asked to be included on school emails — advised the university’s media team against announcing Steve Belichick as Bill’s son in an attempt to prevent claims of nepotism, according to The Athletic.
Hudson sent guidelines to the university on how to announce Steve’s hiring, saying Steve should “be depicted and represented as his own established, credible entity as opposed to an extension of Bill,” per emails obtained by The Athletic.
“It can be easily misinterpreted that Steve is simply benefitting from nepotism but that is not the case. Steve was fortunate to have learned defensive football strategy from the ‘greatest defensive mind’ of all-time. He has earned his position due to his performance and output.”
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Steve was announced as the team’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in March. In that announcement, UNC referred to him as “the son of Bill Belichick.”
Hudson also told the school to avoid using pictures of Bill and Steve together as a way to combat nepotism claims and make Steve’s career stand on its own.
In addition to advising UNC on Steve’s hiring, Hudson also messaged the school about moderating content on social media pages, per The Athletic.
“Is there anyone monitoring the UNC Football page for slanderous commentary and subsequently deleting it / blocking users that are harassing BB in the comments?” Hudson asked on Feb. 13.
On Valentine’s Day, Belichick followed up.
“I cannot believe that UNC would support my being called a ‘predator,’” he wrote.
UNC confirmed it hid or blocked comments about their personal life, though did not find any instances in which Belichick was called a “predator.” Belichick and Hudson’s relationship has been subject to criticism due to their age gap. Belichick is 73. Hudson is 24.
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Hudson does not hold an official position with UNC or its football team. She’s listed as the chief operating officer of Belichick Productions in emails, though The Athletic was unable to find a business listing for Belichick Productions.
Belichick raised eyebrows when reports emerged suggesting he asked UNC to copy Hudson on emails. Given the content in the emails that emerged Tuesday, it appears Hudson is essentially acting in some sort of PR role for Belichick.
After a year away from coaching, Belichick agreed in December to be the next head football coach at UNC. Despite not coaching a single game yet, Belichick’s tenure with the team is already off to an eventful start.
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