Bill Belichick declined to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Trump, seemingly breaking from a friendship with the billionaire business mogul.
Belichick put out a statement Monday after a report surfaced he would receive it later this week.
"Above all, I am an American citizen with great reverence for our nation’s values, freedom and democracy.
BILL BELICHICK SHOULDN'T ACCEPT PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM, EX-NFL MVP SAYS.
Trump and Belichick’s relationship came into a clearer picture after Trump revealed that Belichick wrote to him before his election.
Trump said this past August that he would phone Belichick for advice if he needed assistance in a military battle.
Recently, sports figures Gary Player, Annika Sorenstam, Babe Zaharias, Roger Staubach and Dan Gable received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. »