Bill Belichick’s reputation for being a poor sport precedes him, but that didn’t stop Shannon Sharpe from calling out the coach after the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.
According to NFL on CBS host James Brown, Belichick declined an interview with the network following New England’s 28-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Sharpe unloaded on Belichick for the poor show.
“There’s something to be said about being gracious in defeat,” Sharpe said. “We’ve seen the New England Patriots five times in the last 12 years be victorious. And we’ve seen the opposing coaches that lost come out and talk to our Steve Tasker. Coach Cowher did it when [the Steelers] lost to them. We saw this last week [when the Patriots beat the Texans].
“Bill Belichick makes it real easy for you to root against the Patriots. You can’t be a poor sport all the time. You’re not gonna win all the time. And he does this every time he loses. It is unacceptable.”
Sharpe is absolutely correct with his analysis. Belichick has been doing this for years. He ditched his interview with NBC after losing the Super Bowl to the Giants last year, and he grabbed a referee after being upset following a Patriots loss to the Ravens earlier this season. Belichick was the only coach who blew off the media at owners meetings in 2011. He skipped handshakes when he was coaching the Cleveland Browns.
Belichick is just a poor sport who doesn’t like to lose or work with the media. He does make the Patriots unlikable. What Belichick needs to realize is that you can’t win all the time, so it is important to be somewhat gracious in defeat.
As for Sharpe, though his analysis of Belichick was right on, he needs to work on his balance. I don’t recall him saying anything about Peyton Manning declining an interview with CBS last weekend, nor did he say anything about his brother, Sterling, being inaccessible to the media during his career.
Video via The Big Lead, transcription via Pro Football Talk
