The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s decision to snub former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick as a first-ballot inductee has led to outrage all over the football world. Leading the charge against Hall of Fame voters, NFL Legend Jimmy Johnson has emerged as one of the strongest voices defending Belichick.

With reports revealing the infamous “spy-gate” incident involving the Patriots in 2007 was the biggest reason behind this snub, the former Dallas Cowboys head coach has defended the said practice on X.

“Common practice,” wrote Johnson as he responded to a comment that said, “Cowher said he’s done it when Spygate was going, said pretty much every team did it. So will they take jackets away from people.”

This comment by Jimmy Johnson comes after his tweet about how many teams in the league have used this practice to get a leg up on their opponents throughout the history of the league.

“If they are using the EXCUSE of spygate, that’s ridiculous…many teams (including ourselves) tried it..Howard Mudd at Kansas City, who later coached for Bill Polian and Tony Dungy, gave us the idea. He was the best. We didn’t get anything and stopped, but many teams gave it a try,” Johnson tweeted.

As per Johnson, he got the idea of taping the other team during practice from former NFL player-turned-coach Howard Mudd. Johnson further claimed the Cowboys didn’t get anything of value out of the tactic, and added that “many teams” tried it. If the NFL knew about that tactic, it didn’t take action against any teams or coaches then.

However, it wasn’t the case in 2007, as Belichick’s New England Patriots faced the ire of the league for taping defensive signals from an unauthorized location during a September game against the New York Jets. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell deemed New England had violated league rules with those tapes and fined Belichick $500,000  while the franchise faced penalties of $250,000 and a docked first-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.

As the details behind the Bill Belichick snub continue to unravel, the legendary coach has received support from his former New England colleagues, as franchise owner Robert Kraft and quarterback Tom Brady made statements calling out the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Brady and Kraft defend Belichick after HOF snub

As fans, players, and media personnel continue to raise their voices against Bill Belichick’s snub from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, former Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady and New England owner Robert Kraft also joined in to voice their displeasure with this decision.

“I just think that to me, I don’t understand it,” Brady said in a Wednesday appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk show. “I mean, I was with him every day. If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, which is completely ridiculous because people deserve it. He’s incredible. There’s no coach I’d rather play for. If I’m picking one coach to go out there, to win a Super Bowl, give me one season, I’m taking Bill Belichick.”

Belichick “unequivocally deserves to be a unanimous first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer,” said Kraft, in a statement to The Associated Press.

The trio is etched in football history as the Patriots won six Super Bowls and had three other appearances in the title game during 18 years from 2001 to 2018 while registering 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs. Hence, it will be a loss for the Pro Football Hall of Fame if they don’t enshrine Bill Belichick in Canton, as football fans know and continue to celebrate this coaching icon.