The post Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy refuses to comment on Belichick, Kraft snubs originally appeared on The Sporting News. Click here to add Sports News as your go-to source.
News broke last week that longtime New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is not a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Patriots owner Robert Kraft was snubbed this week.
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In one of the first questions asked during today’s NBC media session, Dungy was asked if he would vote to induct eight-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft into the Football Hall of Fame for the first time.
Dungy declined to comment.
The “snubbing” of the two well-known NFL figures sparked outrage among NFL fans and analysts, with some fans claiming it was “an absolute disgrace to the game of football.”
While Belichick and Kraft both undoubtedly have Hall of Fame resumes, their ties to multiple cheating scandals, such as Spygate in 2007 and Deflategate in 2015, may deter voters from inducting the two into the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is one of the most selective in sports, but only 382 names have been retained in the class of 2025, which is about 1% of all eligible NFL personnel.
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It will be interesting to see how the NFL treats next year’s class, with the greatest player of all time Tom Brady entering his first year in the class. Brady is a Deflategate standout, but fans still seem to believe he will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
While resumes may far outweigh scandals, voters have begun to take notice of potential scandals in which players have been embroiled.
