Khari Thompson remembers the first time he was on the receiving end of a Bill Belichick stare down. It was one of the opening days of training camp last year, and the new Patriots reporter asked a seemingly innocuous question about safety Adrian Phillips’ development. Thompson even couched his inquiry, saying Phillips was “maybe” playing a different role than the previous season.
Belichick responded with a verbal eye roll. “I don’t know what role you’re talking about,” he muttered.
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“Inside, I was dying a little bit,” Thompson told me on my “Sports Media Mayhem” podcast. “But you know what? When he did that, the only thing I was going to sit up there and do in that moment was stare right in his eyes and be like, 'OK. Alright. What's up?' In the end, I'm here, I'm asking the questions. I'm gonna be here a while, so I'm not gonna show you how I'm feeling. But inside, oh hell yeah, I was baking.”
Thompson says he received support from his beat brethren after the awkward exchange. ESPN’s Mike Reiss, one of the stalwarts of the Patriots beat, personally offered Thompson some encouragement.
“He’s like, ‘Dude, keep sticking your nose in there, and asking questions. You’re doing the right thing,’” said Thompson. “Then he kind of whispers, ‘Dude, the first time I asked [Belichick] a question I thought I was going to f— die.’”
Statements of despair aside, the atmosphere inside the press room at Gillette Stadium doesn’t always resemble a morgue. Belichick offers occasional moments of levity, such as when he applauded Chris Berman earlier this week.
“Boomer! We are graced!,” said Belichick in a tone that’s usually reserved for his letters of affection to Donald Trump.
And don’t even get him started on Ed Reed or Johnny Hekker.
“Here's the thing: the other day, he does the Chris Berman thing, clapping for Chris Berman. Or he'll sneak into the booth during the NFL Combine, and he's having a good ol' time with it,” said Thompson. “He's joking, he's a different Belichick. Or he'll go on 'Inside the NFL' and talk about Ed Reed, and it's like he's talking about his child. He absolutely loves this man.”
For sportswriters, covering the Patriots over the last 20 years has been a blessed existence, Belichick's grumbles notwithstanding. The team’s success has provided reporters with national platforms, resulting in lucrative jobs, book deals and broadcasting gigs.
Asking Belichick questions in the wake of a tough loss may be an unpleasant experience. But it’s worth the reward.
At least, that was the case when Tom Brady was under center. Thompson joined the beat at a time of transition, with Tom Brady out and Mac Jones in. But the Patriots’ 17-17 record over the last two years hasn’t softened Belichick. All summer long, he refused to divulge any information about the team’s offensive play-caller, grouching away inquiries with non-sequiturs about how coaches and plays change every year.
That places writers in an odd position: how do you ask pertinent questions to a man who doesn’t want to answer them?
Years ago, Mike Giardi, who once famously invoked Belichick’s ire when he asked about the quarterback situation in the wake of the Patriots’ miserable “Monday Night Football” loss to the Chiefs in 2014, told me sometimes it’s crucial to “ask the question even if you know what the answer is.”
That was the mantra for reporters down at Gillette during camp. Belichick was clearly not going to entertain questions about his opaque coaching staff. But they had to keep trying — even if they knew their efforts were futile.
“He's been doing this for so long. It is a game,” said Thompson. “In regards to the offensive play-caller and the scheme and all of that, it is a chew toy in a lot of ways. And I can’t help but laugh.”
Contrary to popular belief, Belichick probably doesn’t hold contempt for the media. He uses the press to his advantage when necessary, such as when he delved into a prolonged explanation of the Ideal Gas Law to shift the narrative of Deflategate.
But it’s apparent he would rather skip the daily press briefings and overall niceties that come along with most human interactions. Enduring scorn is part of the job.
“I don't think he hates the media,” said Thompson. “But I think it's clear that he's just like, 'Look. In the end, you're gonna play this game on my terms. I don't care what you think about what I'm doing. I don't care if you like the way that I go about my job. In the end, we'll do this little thing and we'll get what we need to get out of it. But I'm not here to play your game. You're doing it my way, or no way at all.”
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Stephen A. for president?: Stephen A. Smith keeps teasing that he’s going to run for president, rightfully proclaiming the standard for seeking the most powerful position in the world is lower than it once was.
But this will never happen, because Smith has nothing to gain from a presidential run, except media scrutiny and consternation. He’s at the apex of his career, earning a reported $12 million annually. Smith doesn’t need a presidential campaign to bolster his personal brand, like Donald Trump in 2016.
Smith may keep talking about running for higher office, but his stump speech will almost certainly stay on the set of “First Take.”
ESPN reveals the strategy behind Buck and Aikman pay days: Top-flight NFL announcers and analysts are now earning more than $10 million annually, including Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, who recently signed with ESPN to call “Monday Night Football.”
Stephanie Druley, ESPN’s executive vice president of event and studio production, said this week the WorldWide Leader believes it’s All-Star announce team will attract better games. "These guys deserve a certain level of game. And the expectation is that the league sees that as well. We will reap the benefit of that,” she said in a press call.
Finally, we have a tangible explanation for why NFL announcer salaries are exploding. The broadcasting crew may not dictate whether fans watch a game, but they seemingly play a role in determining whether the game they’re calling is appetizing in the first place.
Will FanDuel TV work?: FanDuel announced recently it’s going to launch the first 24/7 sports wagering network on cable TV, featuring personalities such as Kay Adams, Pat McAfee and contributors to Bill Simmons’ The Ringer. While that’s an impressive roster of names, it’s hard to see how FanDuel’s studio shows will separate themselves from the fare offered on ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, etc.
That is, except at night. FanDuel is going to air more than 3,000 hours of live sports from niche leagues, such as the National Basketball League (NBL) Australia's professional league, the Chinese Basketball League, as well as the French and German pro leagues. In other words, they’re positioning themselves to be the real-life version of “ESPN The Ocho.”
Now that’s something different. The purpose of FanDuel TV is to attract eyeballs, and thus, attract customers. Airing weird sports in the late-night hours is one great way to accomplish that.
