Report: UNC ‘Hard Knocks’ scuttled over involvement of Bill Belichick’s girlfriend

Plans for the cameras to roll at North Carolina for the first-ever college season of “Hard Knocks” were called off over worries about the involvement of coach Bill Belichick’s girlfriend.That is according to The Athletic, which reported Wednesday that 24-year-old Jordon Hudson wanted to be heavily involved in the production.Backed by documents, The Athletic said NFL Films was set to start taping March 1 on campus in Chapel Hill, N.C., to document Belichick’s first season with his team. However, two days later, North Carolina’s lawyers received an email from Jessica Boddy, the NFL’s vice president for commercial operations and business affairs that the project was off.”The conversation took a turn we were not comfortable with,” Boddy wrote in the email, according to The Athletic. She also is an executive producer of “Hard Knocks.”The university said it was not a decision by its staff to nix “Hard Knocks” and added it was more appropriate for the production company to comment. The NFL, which oversees the show, declined to comment, and Boddy and Hudson did not respond to messages left, per The Athletic.Hudson and Belichick, 73, reportedly have been in a relationship since early 2023, People reported.But it is the question of how they met that put Hudson squarely in the spotlight this week.In an interview that aired Sunday on “CBS Sunday Morning,” Belichick discussed his new book and more. But when CBS’ Tony Dokoupil, who described Hudson as a “constant presence” during the interview, asked how the couple met, she balked.”We’re not talking about this,” Hudson said.Hudson apparently has moved right in as first lady of Tar Heels football. Reporting over the past few weeks said she is being copied on emails and other communications to Belichick from UNC staff, and she has appeared on the practice field. She lists herself on emails as chief operating officer of Belichick Productions, though The Athletic said it couldn’t find any registered business in that name.The Athletic reported that Belichick himself wanted the “Hard Knocks” gig, and North Carolina stood to be paid $200,000 in fees for the five-part series to run on HBO.The show was supposed to be announced during the NFL Scouting Combine.

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