An explosive new book from ESPN's Seth Wickersham on the New England Patriots and their two-decade dynasty is coming out in October. The book, titled “It's Better to Be Feared,” is filled with wild anecdotes that ESPN has highlighted in an article to promote it ahead of the Patriots' showdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
One of those involves head coach Bill Belichick's support for Donald Trump when he was a presidential candidate in 2016. At a campaign rally, Trump read aloud a letter of support from Belichick. This ticked off several Patriots players, and assistant coach Brian Flores told Belichick he needed to address the team about it.
The Patriots coach did address his players, but apparently they weren't having it. Some almost staged a boycott of practice:
Many players felt he was being disingenuous. “It was hypocritical and out of character,” a Patriots player recalled. “I don't think he's an intolerant coach. He isn't a bad guy. Bill just f—ed up and justified it in a way that he would never accept from a player.” After the meeting, a small group of Patriots players considered boycotting practice but then reconsidered.
In addition to Belichick's previous support, Patriots owner Robert Kraft is a longtime friend of Trump, while Tom Brady has been a golfing buddy in the past. However, there has been a bit of distancing in recent years. Belichick turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump, and Brady bailed on a White House visit. Brady did go to the White House this year and cracked some jokes about Trump and Joe Biden.
It's unclear if Belichick is still a Trump supporter after everything that has happened, but if he is, he's surely keeping that to himself and not getting his players involved.
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