New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has spoken to the media twice since 18 of his players knelt during the national anthem Sunday before their 36-33 win over the Houston Texans.
Belichick held a news conference after the game and was asked about the protest, the first of its kind for the Patriots during the anthem. In Week 1 of the 2016 NFL season, Patriots safety Devin McCourty and tight end Martellus Bennett raised a fist after the anthem.
“Yeah, I’m just going to talk about the game,” Belichick said. “I’ll deal with that later.”
Belichick was asked a follow-up three questions later.
“Yeah, I just answered that,” he said.
Belichick also held a conference call with the media Monday morning. Before the call, Patriots vice president of media relations Stacey James asked that all questions be football-related and that Belichick will “try to address (other topics) at a later time.”
Belichick has a Monday afternoon appearance WEEI’s “Dale & Holley with Keefe,” another conference call Tuesday and another news conference Wednesday. He also could release a statement prior to any of those appearances to cite during any follow-up questions.
It seems Belichick does plan to address the protest, but the question is when and how he’ll do it.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
