New England Patriots
“I want to not believe it, but based on the track record of what transpired prior, and the pettiness, that this is truly coming from the petulant old man.”
Scott Zolak has seemingly had it with former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
The former Patriots QB and current 98.5 The Sports Hub radio broadcaster called out Belichick and the University of North Carolina football program earlier week following a report that the Tar Heels intentionally did not promote Drake Maye’s breakout showing against the Bills on Sunday Night Football.
“According to sources inside the UNC football program, it is a directive from the staff (Bill Belichick) to not tweet/retweet anything Patriots-related,” CBS Sports/247Sports reporter Ross Martin posted via X early Monday morning. “That’s clearly why UNC football has not posted anything from Drake Maye’s electric primetime win over the Buffalo Bills.”
An hour after Martin’s post started to make the rounds on social media, the Tar Heels’ main X account posted a video highlighting some of Maye’s throws that helped New England beat the Bills in a primetime matchup.
Speaking on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zolak & Bertrand,” Zolak took Belichick and UNC’s program to task for not pumping up Maye’s breakout game until after news of their social media silence started to spread.
“I want to not believe it, but based on the track record of what transpired prior, and the pettiness, that this is truly coming from the petulant old man,” Zolak said on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zolak & Bertrand” on Monday. “… You’re not going to honor this kid on his coming out party in the National Football League on the national stage? But you can have him come to your camp and stand there and take pictures with him? That’s all cool and fly back in August.
“This is about as bad as it gets for that program,” Zolak added. “This is pathetic. This is sad. This is embarrassing. It really is. It doesn’t get any worse than this.”
Zolak contrasted UNC’s approach with the University of Maryland football program, which reposted numerous highlights of Stefon Diggs’ performance against the Bills (10 catches, 146 yards) as Sunday’s game was playing out.
Even with Belichick’s icy sentiment toward his former team in New England, Zolak stressed that Maye and his family should be above any grievances between Belichick and the Patriots, especially given his ties to the Tar Heels.
Beyond Maye’s standing as a top recruit who earned ACC Player of the Year honors in 2022, his father, Mark, played quarterback for the Tar Heels in the 1980s. Maye’s brothers, Luke and Beau, also played basketball at UNC, with Luke hitting a buzzer-beater in the Elite Eight against Kentucky en route to winning a national title in 2017.
“That kid is family to that program,” Zolak said. “His whole family went there. You’re going to ban his night like he doesn’t exist? If I was every other member of Carolina, I wouldn’t honor this. I would go and tweet the damn stuff out. … What a sad state. What a sad state down there. That’s how petulant you are.”
This is not the first time that Belichick and the Tar Heels have reportedly iced out players and personnel linked to the Patriots. Last month, Belichick confirmed that UNC banned a Patriots scout from attending practices at Chapel Hill during the summer.
“It’s clear that I’m not welcome there around their facility, so they’re not welcome at ours,” Belichick said on September 6. “Pretty simple.”
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