Stephen A. Smith Calls for Boycott of Football Hall of Fame After Bill Belichick Snub: ‘Stinks to the High Heavens!’

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Stephen A. Smith on Wednesday called for a boycott of the Pro Football Hall of Fame after its voting committee failed to induct former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

The day before, ESPN broke the news that Belichick had not been voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot. Considering his impressive resume, it had been a foregone conclusion that Belichick would be a first-ballot inductee. When it was revealed he didn’t earn the necessary votes, however, the confusion and outrage were immediate and widespread.

In ESPN’s reporting of the controversy, sources claimed Bill Polian — a longtime NFL executive and member of the voting committee — argued that Belichick should wait a year to be inducted due to the cheating scandals that plagued his coaching career. In response, Polian said the idea was merely “floated” around among voters. Polian also could not recall if he voted in favor of Belichick’s induction.

On First Take, Smith took aim at Polian and the rest of the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he said:

I want to respect my elders. Mr. Bill Polian, sit down. Just don’t say anything. You don’t 100% recall whether you voted for him or not, but you recall everything else you said and what you didn’t say? But you didn’t recall whether you voted for the man? So you remember everything surrounding the subject, but you don’t remember whether or not you actually voted for him 100%? That’s the most asinine thing that I’ve heard in quite some time! Sit down! That’s all I’m gonna say. I’m not gonna be disrespectful to my elders. My mama’s watching me from above. I’m trying to be nice, but this is ridiculous.

Now, let me say this to everybody about the Pro Football Hall of Fame: we should boycott that bad boy. Nobody should show up! Nobody should want to go into that Hall of Fame if Bill Belichick ain’t in as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Six championships as a head coach, eight overall, two as a defensive coordinator, universally recognized as arguably the greatest coach in the history of football. And if you don’t definitively feel that way, it clearly is a discussion. There is no reason on earth that Bill Belichick is not a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

In response to the theory that the cheating scandals went into the voters’ decisions, Smith wondered if the same rationale would be used to prevent former quarterback Tom Brady from entering the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible.

“If it’s gonna be because of ‘Spy-gate,’ if it’s going to be because of ‘Deflate-gate,’ are you going to use that excuse to keep Tom Brady out as a first ballot Hall of Famer next?” Smith continued. “I’m telling you right now, there are certain things that are so egregious, it stinks to the high heavens that you could do something like this to this man.”

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