Patriots coach Bill Belichick explains why he ‘hates’ social media
GLENDALE, AZ – SEPTEMBER 11: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots works on a microsoft surface tablet as he walks the sidelines during the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick does not have a complicated relationship with social media. The man hates it.
And he has perfectly fine reasoning it when it comes to his disdain for “YourFace” and “SnapFace,” as revealed in the HBO documentary series focusing on the coaching career of both he and Alabama coach Nick Saban.
“I hate social media,” Belichick, who has called social networks by made-up names since forever, began. “We get rid of it whenever we can, do things [where] you don’t bring your phone, you just have a conversation, [and] look the other person in the eye instead of texting back and forth. But it’s the way of the world. I know you guys [in college coaching] deal with it more than we do.”
Bill Belichick on social media: “You know, I hate social media. ...It still comes back to fundamental relationships and communication. There’s no cell phones out there on the field. ...Who cares how many likes you get from 2000 people you don’t even know?” https://t.co/BLIJkcFxiz
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 11, 2019
“Who cares how many ‘likes’ you get from 2,000 people you don’t even know,” Belichick, now making all of us rethink our existence within this realm, said. “There’s 53 guys in the locker room. Those are the 53 that matter, and I don’t know if that always gets through or not. But we keep pounding away, keep trying.”
It’s an interesting discussion between two coaches constantly dealing with high-profile athletes, all of whom receive boatloads of likes and ‘engagement’ for even the slightest, mundane postings. And for Belichick, it would seem to be that he believes that the impersonal nature of social media can distract players and teams from what’s really important: the on-field communication a team has to perform at a championship-level.
“It still comes back to fundamental relationships and communication,” said Belichick. “There’s no cell phones out there on the field. You better know what your teammates doing, he better know what you’re doing, or you’re gonna get beat.”
With that in mind, and with the Patriots coming off back-to-back losses, Patriot Place is likely under a strict No Phone policy.
