Belichick: Thanks, but no thanks

New England head coach Bill Belichick said he would not accept a Presidential Medal of Freedom, following last week's deadly siege on the U.S. Capitol. A White House spokesman had announced Belichick would be in line for the award previously.

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January 12, 2021 - 9:43 AM

U.S. President Donald Trump, center, listens to New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick deliver remarks during an event celebrating the Patriots' Super Bowl win in 2017. Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images / TNS

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick announced Monday night that he will not accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom, saying “remaining true to the people, team and country I love outweigh the benefits of any individual award.”

In a delicately worded, one-paragraph statement, the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach did not say explicitly that he had turned down the offer from President Donald Trump, whom he has called a friend. Instead, Belichick explained, “the decision has been made not to move forward with the award” in the wake of last week’s deadly siege on the U.S. Capitol.

A White House official said on Sunday, four days after the riots, that Trump would be awarding Belichick the nation’s highest civilian honor — part of a late flurry of presentations that also included golfers Annika Sorenstam, Gary Player and the late Babe Zaharias.

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