Charles Barkley makes plea to Bill Belichick, Jordon Hudson amid backlash over relationship

Charles Barkley made a plea to Bill Belichick and girlfriend Jordon Hudson amid backlash over their relationship. Belichick is set to begin Year 1 as head coach of North Carolina, but the offseason was certainly noisy with Hudson’s influence over Belichick’s media tour for promoting his new book.

Hudson interjected during a “CBS This Morning” interview, had alleged control over saying no to HBO’s Hard Knocks and much more. Belichick has since stated Hudson, despite their personal and professional relationship, doesn’t have an official role with the football program.

In recent months, it’s been quiet when it comes to the drama. And Barkley, who’s a good friend of the coach, wants to keep it that way.

“I’m really looking forward to college football,” Barkley said on Pardon My Take. “Auburn should be better, but I’m really excited about Coach Belichick and Carolina. And I’m really pulling (for him). He’s a good friend of mine, and I really want to see him do well down there.”

As long as things stay the status quo, it should be fine in Barkley’s eyes. If Belichick keeps it all about football for the next month-plus and gets it rolling, he could find success.

“She needs to stand down,” Barkley said. “I struggle whether to call coach, and I prefer to stay out of people’s personal (business), but she’s got to stand down. Because you got to understand something. They’re using her to get to Bill and she has to understand that because people don’t like Bill, and he deserves some blame for that, because the way he treated the media. Now, the way it ended in New England, they want to get him back. 

“So they’re using her to get to him. I just hope he’s successful, because he’s a great dude. He’s the greatest pro football coach ever, because Coach Saban is the greatest college coach ever. I want to see him finish on a high note, that’s my number one concern. I want to see him finish on a high note.”

ESPN is also in position to capitalize on Belichick with eight – maybe 10 – UNC games on its networks, Front Office Sports reported. As for whether the company is expecting a Deion Sanders-like surge, it certainly sees “potential.”

“We have to wait and see. The potential is there,” said Kurt Dargis, ESPN senior director of programming and acquisitions, in an interview with FOS. “There’s definitely interest in him outside the typical college football fan.

“Deion was such a phenomenon. I still can’t believe some of the numbers we got that first year he was there. It’s too early to say.”