Staying true to form, Belichick shrugged off the inquiries from an ambitious television news reporter whose lone assignment was to pepper Belichick about Edelman.
It was slightly awkward, particularly since neither party had ever really dealt with one another before, but both sides had a job to do, and that’s what they did. Here’s how it all went down.
Question: Do you have any comment on Julian Edelman’s arrest, and what is his future with the team as a result of that?
Belichick: I don’t have any comment. I think his representatives made their comment. I don’t have anything to add to it.
Question: Considering that Rob Gronkowski posed for a picture with a porn star and you have another young player out late at a night club getting arrested, is there a discipline issue on this team?
Belichick: I don’t have anything to add to that.
Question: Nothing at all?
Belichick: That’s correct.
Question: Have you talked to Julian Edelman? Have you had any conversations with Julian?
Belichick: Yeah, of course.
Question: Are you satisfied with that?
Belichick: I don’t have any comment. Those conversations are private between myself and the player, like all the other ones we have.
Question: You must be disappointed in him?
Belichick: Right now, I’m getting ready for the Giants. That’s what our football team is here for: to get ready for the Giants. Big game on Sunday.
Question: Will he be playing that game?
Belichick: We’ll play the best players that we can for the game like we always do. It won’t be any different this week than any other week.
Question: Will there be internal sanctions against either Rob Gronkowski or Julian Edelman on this?
Belichick: We never publicly announce our internal team discipline, so we wouldn’t change that policy.
Question: You do have a system of team discipline in general?
Belichick: Of course.
(There was then a break to get back to football questions before the reporter asked the final question of the news conference.)
Question: Are you going to talk to the whole team to reinforce how important it is to represent the team well when they’re away from Gillette Stadium?
Belichick: That’s important to all of us.
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