Bill Belichick went above and beyond to make sure he was following the NFL’s coronavirus safety protocols on Monday night, and one sports media personality wonders if the New England Patriots coach may have been mocking the league.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said on his show Tuesday that he believes Belichick was sending a message to the NFL by wearing two masks — especially since he wore them both at his postgame press conference.
“I think it’s fair to conclude that that was his way of passive aggressively reacting to the conference call he had to engage in yesterday on the day of a game,” Florio said. “Probably on the plane or once they landed, they had the extended conference call where (NFL officials) read everybody the riot act and that’s his reaction to having the riot act read to him. If they’re gonna huff and puff he’s gonna make sure nobody blows their house down. If he can give a little subtle middle finger in the process, he’s gonna do it.”
Florio’s co-host Chris Simms speculated that Belichick may have been trying to protect himself after Cam Newton tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. Ben Volin of the Boston Globe believes that makes more sense than Belichick trying to show up the NFL.
Not sure it was about Belichick "giving a subtle middle finger" to the league. It was most likely about Belichick being 68 years old and being exposed to Cam Newton on Friday and not knowing if any of his players or coaches are currently incubating the virus https://t.co/bV4bontJzw
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) October 6, 2020
The Patriots did take extra precautions with their trip to Kansas City after Newton tested positive, so perhaps Belichick was doing the same. He also may have been doing everything he could to avoid a massive fine like the ones that have been handed out to some of his fellow coaches.
Whatever the case, the NFL must have been a lot more pleased with Belichick’s mask setup than the one Jon Gruden had in Week 3.
