Bill Belichick’s Hall of Fame snub was guaranteed to stir controversy, but few expected the debate to rage on past the Super Bowl. The event came and went, but the former HC’s snub is still a major talking point, and former running back Marshawn Lynch was the latest to criticize Hall of Fame voters.

“F— them and f— whatever they gotta do… [Belichick] won six Super Bowls and still isn’t first-ballot,” Lynch said in an expletive-filled rant on his Get Got Podcast. “If that n— was cheating, then deal with that s— then.”

“F— them … and f— everything they stand for, and f— all that other s—,” he added.

Safe to say, this is the harshest criticism of the Pro Football Hall of Fame so far. On the field, it’s hard to argue with his resume. Belichick was among the five finalists, competing with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Roger Craig, Ken Anderson, and L.C. Greenwood, but failed to collect 40 votes out of the 50 needed. A résumé that includes six Lombardi Trophies, nine conference championships, and a 333–178 record not being enough for a gold jacket has fueled criticism.

Belichick’s involvement in the Spygate (2007) and Deflategate (2014–15) controversies is widely believed to have been a factor in the decision, with reports indicating that some voters were uncomfortable with his record on league rules.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

“The only explanation [for the outcome] was the cheating stuff,” a voter said. “It really bothered some of the guys.”

Lynch’s argument revolves around the fact that Belichick should have been punished for his actions at the time, but not anymore, after all these years.

He certainly did pay for his actions, as Commissioner Roger Goodell fined Belichick $500,000 for the illegal videotaping, noting it was a “calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid long-standing rules,” and the Patriots were forced to forfeit their first-round pick in 2008.

Lynch’s frustration isn’t just theoretical; he sees a double standard when compared to his own past run-ins with the league office over a 2009 gun charge.

Marshawn Lynch puts the NFL’s actions on notice

In 2009, the running back was initially suspended for three games, later reduced to two on appeal, for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, losing $112,000 of his base salary with the Buffalo Bills. He pleaded guilty to a gun charge after the Buffalo police found a semiautomatic handgun in his trunk.

Police also reported finding a small amount of marijuana in the vehicle, and Lynch was sentenced to 80 hours of community service along with three years of probation. Reacting to Bill Belichick’s Hall of Fame snub, Lynch referenced his own past suspension, arguing that the league punished him immediately for his situation.

His bigger point, though, is that the NFL dealt with the situation right there and then, and it didn’t snowball into something bigger, unlike what happened with Bill Belichick.

“They said I was smoking weed, and all this shi-, and they never called me for tests, and they suspended me for four games, like I was a motherfu—– crackhead ni—. But they suspended me for that, they dealt with the situation then, and what the problem was right there and then. But they didn’t do that with this ni—.”

This really comes down to the voters’ personal opinions and thought processes rather than the NFL’s actions. If they believe Belichick’s punishment did not match the crime, they will again decide to vote against him, disregarding everything the head coach has achieved over the course of his career. It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out next year.

“It pushes all three of these coaches back a year,” HOFer Peter King said. “You have to ask yourself: What does the coaches committee do next year? Are they going to again advance Belichick? Wouldn’t it be embarrassing if they don’t? … This decision has a major impact beyond just one year.”