Chris Hogan: Patriots’ Locker Room Not The Place To Talk Politics

FOXBORO, Mass. — Election talk has dominated the national consciousness for what seems like an eternity. But New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan claims it rarely makes its way into the Patriots’ locker room.

“The locker room, I don’t think is a huge place for guys really to talk politics,” Hogan said Tuesday. “There’s always a couple of guys that will be in here butting heads or something like that, but (that’s it).”

Unsurprisingly, most Patriots players sidestepped questions about their political leanings before hitting the practice field on election day.

“I’m going to refrain from commenting on any political matters at this time,” special teams captain Matthew Slater said.

“I’m going to keep the political stuff out of these questions right now,” linebacker Rob Ninkovich added.

Defensive end Chris Long offered a take similar to Hogan’s, saying “there’s no talk about politics.” Long did reveal he doesn’t plan to vote in the 2016 presidential election but declined to discuss the matter.

“I’m not voting,” he said, “but really, that’s not a conversation I want to go down.”

The two most high-profile members of the Patriots organization — quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick — both have been linked to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Trump said Monday at a rally in New Hampshire that he’d received a vote from Brady and a letter of support from Belichick.

Multiple reports confirmed Belichick’s sending of the letter, while Brady’s vote remained unconfirmed as of Tuesday afternoon.

Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images