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Brian Polian wants people to stop coming after his father.
In a social media post on Thursday, Brian Polian — the son of longtime NFL general manager Bill Polian — criticized people bashing his father for his reported role behind Bill Belichick’s Pro Football Hall of Fame denial earlier this week.
“My father is a public figure and polarizing,” Brian Polian wrote on X. “I understand and accept that. However, what has happened over the last couple of days is not right. The facts and the truth are important.”
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, right, congratulates former general manager Bill Polian, who was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor during halftime of the Colts’ NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Indianapolis, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017. APBrian Polian’s comments come as his dad has been engulfed in controversy, as the former Colts GM was named in an ESPN report that said he told voters that Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Patriots, should have to “wait a year” as punishment for the 2007 Spygate scandal.
Bill Polian denied the reports during an interview with Sports Illustrated, saying he actually voted for Belichick.
“That’s totally and categorically untrue. I voted for him,” he told SI on Tuesday.
TV analyst Bill Belichick watches the Miami Hurricanes play the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half of the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium. Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesBut he then seemed to backtrack on these comments when speaking to ESPN on the day the vote was first reported, saying he was not totally sure of his Hall of Fame ballot.
But on Wednesday, Bill Polian joined SiriusXM Radio to clarify that he did, with 100 percent certainty, vote for Belichick.
“I voted for Coach Belichick in the Hall of Fame selection meeting,” Polian said, reading from a prepared statement. “The Pro Football Hall of Fame has confirmed that fact through the auditors of the selection process. Again, I’ll state that I never said that I believed that Coach Belichick should ‘wait a year’ for enshrinement. This has been confirmed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, numerous selectors who were in the room and my vote for Coach Belichick.
“As a Hall of Fame member and selector, I realize the import of what we do. I’ve always tried as a selector to make these difficult choices with the utmost objectivity. I’ve said on Sirius XM Radio and numerous other media outlets that I believe Coach Belichick to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. My vote confirms that.”
Belichick not being voted into the Hall of Fame on his first attempt has rattled the football world, leaving many wondering how at least 11 of the 50 Hall of Fame voters said no. So far, two media members have come forward to explain why Belichick was not included in their votes.
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