Bill Belichick; lights, cameras...action
With Bill Belichick set to speak to the media on Wednesday at 2:00 pm, all eyes and ears will be focused attentively on Foxboro, right? Not necessarily. All the off-season moves, the comings and goings, the position battles and the fresh feel of a new season are all being vastly overshadowed by the Aaron Hernandez case. As usual though the calm, cool and calculating New England Patriots are attempting to control the situation from the get go, by conveniently scheduling Belichick's press conference for the same time as Hernandez has a hearing in court. Make no mistake about it, this is no coincidence and it foreshadows what is sure to be an excitingly awkward meeting with the media.Aaron Hernandez has a probable cause hearing at the Attleboro District Courthouse on Wednesday. Thanks to my criminal justice degree, I know this hearing is more of a formality but it will determine 2 things; if a crime was committed and if the defendant might have committed it. While I may see it as just a step in the long legal process, the national media members that have flocked to Boston to cover this story, will disagree or simply not care. They will be there in Attleboro, asking questions, writing their articles and that is exactly what Bill Belichick wants. By having his press conference at the same time, the Patriots hope to minimize the number of potential questions asked about Aaron. They know the national media, for the most part, will choose to be in court rather than at Gillette, and frankly it's the bigger story. It even forces the local media to make a tough decision on where to go. All of this is part of their plan.
Now if that plan includes actually talking about Hernandez, we will have to wait until roughly 2:15 pm to find out, once Bill's done taking questions. It's likely he will have a short but prepared statement on Hernandez that echoes what Patriots owner Bob Kraft said earlier this month. Don't expect Bill to admit he was "duped" as Kraft said but words like disappointed and surprised are sure to be thrown in their along with condolences to the Odin Lloyd family. Belichick rarely goes into great detail especially at press conferences, so to expect him to open up a little like Kraft did is foolish. For Patriots fans a short and sweet statement may be enough but for the rest of the country it probably will not.
Questions about Aaron's off the field life and how much the Patriots knew, along with why they gave him the $40 million contract extension and how much "digging" they did beforehand will certainly be asked. Everyone wants to know more about what the Patriots and Bill think about this whole situation but based on history we may not get those answers or any answers on what he thinks. Yet, if Belichick realizes that for at least one day his press conference can't just be about the football players on his team and does in fact start off with a statement that is thoughtful but to the point, I will be completely fine with it. After that he can go right back into his shell, rolling his eyes at questions and keeping the subject on the players present for camp. If for some strange reason he completely ignores it and brushes off any questions about Aaron with his usual bravado, Bill and the Patriots will be lambasted left and right around the country. Not that Bill would care either, but the Patriots could certainly use the positive press.
