A Cleveland Browns reporter made a pointed joke about Bill Belichick’s relationship with 24-year-old former cheerleader Jordon Hudson during her acceptance speech for the Bill Nunn Memorial Award at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Gold Jacket Dinner.
And Hudson didn’t appear to be impressed.
Reporter Mary Kay Cabot was relaying to those in attendance just how difficult it was to deal with Belichick, as he was the first Browns coach she covered on her beat. He wouldn’t give her an inch, something that toughened her up for the award-winning career she would go on to have.
“You see, if you start out with Bill Belichick, no one can rattle you after that. If Bill didn’t like something I wrote, he’d call and yell at me. If you asked a dumb question, he’d call you out,” she said, according to Awful Announcing.
“Eventually, I had to learn to stand up to him,” Cabot continued. “During one of those yelling matches, I told him, if you don’t have the ‘footballs’ to say that to the guys, then don’t say it to me.”
It was where she went next that had football fans buzzing.
Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson Catch Strays at HOF Ceremonies
It seems everybody wants to weigh in on the Bill Belichick-Jordon Hudson May-September romance these days. And Cabot decided to join the fray.
Cabot, who began covering the Browns in 1991 when Belichick was head coach, referenced their past contentious interactions, noting how Belichick would yell at her for articles he disliked.
“But now, I totally understand why Bill gave me such a hard time. I was 28 at the time, and he just couldn’t relate to a woman that old,” she said, drawing significant laughter from the crowd in attendance.
.@MaryKayCabot with the one-liner of the year. I’m crying 😂🤣😂🤣
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 2, 2025
(🎥 via https://t.co/SaJ0lj4fsP) pic.twitter.com/e0NF10V3jy
Hudson, at 24, is 49 years younger than Belichick. She appears to have gotten wind of the joke and wasn’t exactly a fan. Her X account, according to the New York Post, shared a message from one fan who declared Cabot’s joke to be a product of the media trying to make the story about themselves.
“Not much of a ‘laugh,'” the user wrote. “No wonder so many have contempt for the media, especially those who want to be the story rather than [report] on the story.”
Not much of a "laugh."
— Jo Yan (@fini_en) August 2, 2025
No wonder so many have contempt for the media, especially those who want to be the story rather than roprt on the story.
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Now, I’m not one to disagree that the media – especially in sports journalism – love to make the story about themselves from time to time. But we have to point out that this speech was about Cabot.
She was the award winner, so she can say anything she wants in her acceptance speech, you rube.
This seems like more evidence that Hudson has lost her sense of humor when it comes to people cracking jokes about her relationship with Bill Belichick.
Hon, you’re almost five decades younger. Stop pretending you weren’t aware the relationship would generate controversy, and stop pretending it hasn’t elevated your own status by having everybody and their grandpa commenting on it.
Speaking of grandpa, Belichick has been fueling rumors that he and Hudson are engaged, changing the name of his boat from “VIII Rings” (the number of Super Bowl rings he has) to “I + VIII Rings.”
The jokes will continue pouring in if they ever get married.
As for Cabot, she deserves much in the way of congratulations. The Bill Nunn Memorial Award is bestowed annually by the Professional Football Writers of America to a reporter for their “long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage.”
She is only the second woman to have won the award.
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