"Multiple sources told ESPN that Spygate and Deflategate, the twin cheating scandals during the Patriots' championship run, came up in deliberations among voters. A voter who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Polian, an ardent Kraft supporter and former general manager of the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts - a chief Patriots rival during their dynasty - told some voters he believed Belichick should 'wait a year' before induction as penance for Spygate, the 2007 cheating scandal that cost the team a first-round draft pick."
"Polian, 83, was himself elected to the Hall of Fame in 2015 as contributor (having built winning teams with the Bills, Panthers, and Colts). He mostly crossed paths with Belichick during his time as Colts general manager from 1998-2009. And according to an in-depth report from ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham (which broke the news of Belichick not being elected), Polian may have played a role in convincing voters to not select the eight-time Super Bowl winner (six of which were won as head coach of the Patriots)."
Bill Belichick failed to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot amid uncertainty over voter decisions. Bill Polian, 83, a 2015 Hall of Fame inductee who served as Colts general manager from 1998 to 2009, has a contested voting record regarding Belichick. Spygate and Deflategate were raised during deliberations, and an anonymous voter said Polian suggested Belichick should 'wait a year' as penance for Spygate. Polian first denied not voting for Belichick and later said he 'could not remember with 100% certainty,' creating conflicting accounts.
Read at Boston.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]