Washington, January 13: Bill Belichick, the renowned coach of New England Patriots, has declined acceptance of one of the Nation’s Highest Civilian Honor from President Donald Trump.
The Rejection- Highest Civilian Honor
Belichick has been acquainted with Trump for years now and was scheduled to travel to Washington on Thursday in order to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The well-known sportsperson said that while he had been genuinely flattered to have been chosen for the honour, he reconsidered his decision in terms of accepting the same after the riot at the Capitol that not only shook the United States but also the world. Trump and his administration have received a huge blow of criticism following the incident and was also disparaged for instigating his followers before the violent incident took place that left many civilians dead including Capitol Police officer.
In a written statement Belicheck said that, subsequently, the catastrophic incident of the week gone by has been subsequently been instrumental in a change of mind regarding not accepting one of the Nation’s Highest Civilian Honor that too from the President himself.
An Apolitical Friendship as a Cause
Belichick’s association with Trump goes back a long way, even before his sweeping victory in the 2016 elections. In fact, before the 2016 elections, Trump even read out a letter of praise from the former at a pre-election rally in New Hampshire. However, afterwards, Belichick said in a statement that has was an apolitical person and he simply shared “a friendship and loyalty to Donald”, which had nothing to do with either of their professions.
Of late, President Trump has chosen a string of sports personalities and political backers for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has often conducted grand ceremonies for the award; however, some of the recent events regarding the same had been held in private spaces. And Trump has been generally keeping at bay since he lost the elections.
Since the Capitol siege, several individuals and organizations have started distancing themselves from Trump, which is a clear hint of dissatisfaction with the functioning of the administration. Thus, leading to the declination of the Highest Civilian Honor by the public figure.
