Bill Belichick's Potty Mouth Becomes Talking Point After NFL Meetings
BOSTON (CBS) -- An adult male, in a room full of other adult males, uttered a swear word. Now it's news.
Welcome to National Football League coverage in 2015.
No, this is not a joke.
(Well, it is a joke. But it's really happening.)
On Wednesday, Adam Schefter went on ESPN and painted a picture of the meeting room in which Patriots head coach Bill Belichick pleaded for the league to adopt his proposal for cameras on goal lines and boundary lines. Schefter said Belichick used "profane language" and that he "went off."
"People in the room at the time, they were laughing at it because his language was so profane and because he was so incensed about it, and the NFL didn't know how to handle it," Schefter said.
Because Belichick is a lightning rod for generating opinions, this story caused quite the stir on the ol' Internet. Typical #CLASSLESS Belichick, am I right or what?!
Well, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio talked to three different people who were in attendance for Belichick's soliloquy, and they said that the speech could hardly be considered a profane tirade.
"One source said there may have been a single F-bomb uttered by Belichick while sharing his views on the league's reluctance to invest the money necessary to install fixed cameras along the sidelines and goal lines, but the source added, 'I've heard much worse in that room during discussions,'" Florio wrote. "The quote [from Belichick] was something like, 'Let me get this straight, we can bring this game to Brazil and effing China but we can't afford to put a camera in a pylon?' one of the sources said. Another source said he heard no profane language at all, which suggests that any profanity was uttered with a classic Belichick mutter, not as rant."
Despite the clarification, news outlets couldn't help themselves from jumping on the Naughty Belichick bandwagon.
"Report: Belichick goes on profane tirade over end-zone replay cameras" -- CBSSports.com (this blog included Florio's clarification, but the headline remains)
"Did Patriots' Bill Belichick go on a profane rant at NFL meetings?" -- NJ.com (Oh! Intriguing! Did he?!)
"Did Bill Belichick Go on 'Profane Tirade' at League Meetings, Or Did He Not?" -- The Big Lead (More intrigue! Did a man swear?! I must know!)
"Bill Belichick Is Pissed The NFL Won't Adopt His Great Idea" -- Deadspin
"The NFL won't pay for end zone cameras and Bill Belichick isn't happy about it" -- SB Nation
There are more, but you get the picture. Bill Belichick might have used a swear word. This is huge news!
I recognize that publishing this story and thereby adding one more "Belichick swears" story into the boundless ether that is the Internet serves as a bit of a counterproductive act with regard to the opening premise. But as long as it's already out there, there's no way to stop the tide from rolling. It's at least worth trying to post an accurate representation of what happened.
And with that, you can now continue on with your day. I hope you don't have to encounter the horror of hearing a fellow adult utter a word that is not permissible to say on television. That would be just terrible.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand spent some time Thursday afternoon discussing Belichick's alleged potty mouth at the owners meetings.
Listen below: