National Football League (NFL) top coach Bill Belichick has refused to accept the U.S. Presidential Freedom Medal, the country’s highest civilian honor, citing last week’s deadly riot on Capitol Hill.
The six-time Super Bowl-winning coach said he changed his mind after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building, the seat of the U.S. Congress, which looted offices and left threatening messages.
“Above all, I am an American citizen with a great reverence for the values, freedom, and democracy of our nation,” Belichick said in a statement Monday, adding that he represented his family and the New York team. England Patriots.
The coach, who previously felt flattered by the opportunity to receive the medal, said he would continue his efforts working on social justice, equality and human rights “while maintaining loyalty to the people, team and country I love. they outweigh the benefits of any individual award ”.
Critics have blamed an incendiary speech by Trump for causing the worst violence at the Capitol in more than two centuries. Five people died during the assault.
A White House official said Sunday, four days after the riots, that Trump would award the medal to Belichick, part of a late presentation briefing that also included golfers Annika Sorenstam, Gary Player and the late Babe Zaharias.
Sorenstam and Player accepted their awards at a private ceremony the day after the violence in Washington, DC.
Belichick’s decision, which has backed Trump in the past, is once again for an increasingly isolated U.S. president. Several of its top councilors have resigned in recent days and cited Wednesday’s violence.
The news that Belichick rejected the Medal of Freedom provoked a positive reaction on social media.
“Congratulations, Bill Belichick. You did the right thing, ”wrote Bob Ryan, an emeritus sports columnist for the Boston Globe.
Congratulations, Bill Belichick. You did the right thing.
– Bob Ryan (@GlobeBobRyan) January 12, 2021
Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern, who previously urged Belichick to turn down the award, welcomed the decision.
“This president is not fit to be in office, so anything he would give to anyone makes no sense. Thank you, Coach Belichick, for rejecting the Trump award,” the senator said on Twitter.
This president is not fit to be in office, so anything he would grant to anyone makes no sense.
Thank you, Coach Belichick, for rejecting the Trump award. https://t.co/qyxWJT5VAd
– Representative Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) January 12, 2021
Although he describes himself as apolitical, Belichick has entered politics at times.
In 2016, Trump read a brilliant letter from Belichick while on the campaign track, in which the coach praised his courage and leadership. While Trump said the letter offered “best wishes for great results” on election day and “the opportunity to make America great again,” Belichick said it was just to support one friend.
Some fans criticized the coach’s support for Trump, but he didn’t seem to affect his position with the players in the locker room. Patriots owner Robert Kraft is also a friend of Trump.
The U.S. president has had a long-running fight with the NFL for players kneeling during the national anthem, a gesture some black players took for the first time to protest racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Trump called on the league to ban players from “grabbing their knees” in protest.
Tense relations between the team’s players and the president surfaced on several occasions, including 2019, when the Patriots did not attend a regular White House event to celebrate the Super Bowl victory, citing conflicting schedules.
After the death of George Floyd this summer, Patriots players praised Belichick for providing an open forum for them to express their feelings about race and social injustice in the United States.