FOXBORO, Mass. — Bill Belichick walked up to the podium in the New England Patriots’ media workroom in a good mood Friday.
“Big Friday crowd, huh?” Belichick said smiling.
Three minutes later, he walked off the stage and out into the halls of Gillette Stadium. Belichick briefly addressed Antonio Brown’s latest controversy, in which the wide receiver allegedly harassed a woman who had accused him of sexual misconduct.
“I know there are questions about Antonio,” Belichick said. “We take all the situations with our team very seriously. And there are some things we’re looking into. I’m not going to comment on any of the off-the-field situations if there are questions on that. Anything on football, I’d be happy to answer.”
Belichick said “everything is important” when asked about the importance of off-the-field behavior.
Belichick then was asked if Brown would play Sunday.
“He’s on our roster,” the Patriots coach clarified.
Belichick was asked if the latest report affected Brown’s status with the team.
“Yeah, I think I already addressed this, so I’m going to get ready for the Jets here,” Belichick said. “I’d be happy to answer any football questions. But the rest of it, I’m done with the rest of it.”
Another reporter began a question about “off-field stuff” when Belichick interrupted.
“OK, so, yeah. Yeah. I’m good,” Belichick said. “Thank you. I think we had enough of that.”
Belichick then stormed off the podium and into the hall.
UPDATE (12:40 p.m. ET): This story originally stated Belichick yelled as he walked out of the media workroom. Patriots media relations denied Belichick yelled in the hall. Two media members heard Belichick say something else as he walked through the media workroom door.
