Originally appeared on E! Online
Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman are on the defensive line for their former coach.
Days after Bill Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, awkwardly shut down a question about how they met during his latest interview with “CBS News Sunday Morning,” the retired New England Patriots players shared their perspective.
“People are giving an unfair reality of what’s going on,” Edelman, 38, said on the Tuesday episode of their Dude on Dude podcast.
Edelman then offered his take on the viral interview.
“She was jumping into that conversation during the interview just like any PR person would jump in when there’s an unnecessary question that probably didn’t go over in the pre-production meeting,” Edelman said.
Snoop Dogg left Bill Belichick’s girlfriend Jordon Hudson, 24, stunned with a joke about the couple’s nearly 50-year age gap.
Indeed, Hudson made her presence known during Belichick’s onscreen interview that aired Sunday. At the time, journalist Tony Dokoupil asked the former Patriots coach, 73, how he met his girlfriend, who is 49 years younger than him. But before he could respond, Hudson — who was watching the interview take place — chimed in and said, “Not talking about this.”
Though Belichick — who shares kids Amanda, 41, and Stephen, 38, with ex-wife Debby Clarke — didn’t answer the question, he noted that he’s “never been too worried about what everybody else thinks” of their relationship, which has faced scrutiny (and several jokes) since they went public last June.
And while her comment during the interview raised eyebrows on social media, Edelman believes Hudson’s quick intervention was her way of protecting Belichick.
“When you look at this situation and you say, ‘This is his girlfriend jumping in,’ I think that’s unfair,” he continued. “I think she’s actually working with coach Belichick in the professional world.”
Gronkowski agreed with his former teammate as he described Hudson as the coach’s “representative” who just happens to be his girlfriend.
As for the interview, Belichick also supported Hudson’s quick intervention. In a statement on Wednesday from the University of North Carolina, the legacy coach noted that he wanted to mainly promote his new memoir, “The Art of Winning — Lessons from My Life in Football,” and that he was taken aback by Dokoupil’s questions about his relationship.
“I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book,” he said, per NBC Sports. “After this occurred several times, Jordon [Hudson], with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion.”
He reiterated that Hudson “was not deflecting any specific question or topic,” but rather making sure the interview “stayed on track.”
