Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo and Stephen A. Smith took aim at Bill Belichick’s book tour, and Ryan Clark made sure he wouldn’t have to participate.
Russo recently ripped Belichick’s relationship with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson on his SiriusXM Radio Show, calling it a “dog show.” He did it again Wednesday morning on ESPN’s First Take, but this time, he took specific aim at Belichick’s handling of his book tour.
“25 years of being a louse to the media. Never answered any questions. You ask him a tough question after a loss, he mumbled, never gave you an answer…and now all of a sudden, he needs the media to sell a book and he’s gonna tell the media what to ask him and what to focus in on on a dopey book!”
Belichick joined CBS Sunday Morning this week and seemed caught off guard by interviewer Tony Dokoupil asking innocuous questions about things in the coach’s life that have been widely reported on. More surprising, was Belichick’s girlfriend deciding which questions he could answer from behind the camera.
“You’re gonna write a book, do the interviews,” Russo ranted. “And if they want to ask you about Malcom Butler for 20 minutes, deal with it!”
Russo then went around the room, as he always does after giving a take during his “What Are You Mad About? segment, inviting praise or criticism. Stephen A. Smith quickly echoed Russo’s issue with Belichick’s book tour, but went a step further by calling out Hudson’s role.
“We certainly don’t want to see someone with you telling folks, ‘We’re not answering those questions’ either. You do not want that,” Smith added.
“That’s where RC exit out the stage,” Clark said as he removed himself from the conversation.
“You’re a grown man,” Smith continued of Belichick. “If somebody asks you a question and you don’t want to answer it, don’t answer it. You spent 20 years not answering questions you didn’t want to answer. We don’t need somebody else telling us you’re not answering something.”
Louis Riddick and Molly Qerim both refrained from joining the conversation, while Clark remained off set until Russo moved on to a different topic.
Maybe Clark didn’t want to comment because he spent the last football season working with Belichick on Inside the NFL. Or maybe he just wasn’t comfortable discussing anything about the 73-year-old’s relationship with Hudson.
It’s usually reasonable to avoid talking about anyone’s personal life and romantic interests. But Hudson made herself part of the conversation by taking the reins on managing Belichick’s public relations.