UNC denies report that Jordon Hudson, Belichick's girlfriend, is banned from football facilities

The North Carolina athletics department said Friday that football coach Bill Belichick's girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, is allowed in the program's facilities, disputing a report that she'd been banned.

"While Jordon Hudson is not an employee at the University or Carolina Athletics, she is welcome to the Carolina Football facilities," Carolina Athletics said in a statement released Friday morning. "Jordon will continue to manage all activities related to Coach Belichick’s personal brand outside of his responsibilities for Carolina Football and the University.”

Pablo Torre, a sports commentator, podcast host and regular contributor on ESPN, unveiled that two sources within UNC’s athletic department told him that Hudson is no longer allowed inside UNC’s football facilities. A post on X with a conversation from Torre’s podcast "Pablo Torre Finds Out” began circulating on Friday morning. 

WRAL reported earlier that an athletics source denied Torre’s findings about Hudson being banned.

The relationship between the 24-year-old Hudson and the 73-year-old Belichick has been in the news in recent weeks.

Torre said he spoke with 11 people about the situation and understood a decision was made last week.

“Two sources at the University of North Carolina tell me that there has been a decision that was made last week by the higher-ups inside the athletic department that had hired Bill Belichick to be the highest paid public employee — not just coach in the state of North Carolina at $10 million a year — and that decision was that Jordon Hudson, she is no longer allowed in the football building,” Torre said. “She is not allowed on the football field.” 

Torre also said some of Belichick’s family members are concerned about what the relationship with the 24-year-old Hudson means for his legacy and achievements, highlighted by winning six Super Bowls as head coach of the New England Patriots. The concerns have led to family members digging more into Hudson’s background.

A source told Torre: “There is deep worry for how detrimental Jordon can be for not just North Carolina but Bill’s legacy, reputation - everything he has built and worked for over decades.”

Hudson has been seen with Belichick on campus, at basketball games and at an open spring practice on April 12.

Torre’s source said, ‘Don’t think you’ll be hearing much from Jordon moving forward.'”

After UNC's denial, Torre said he stood by his reporting. 

"We broke news of an important meeting where UNC higher-ups told the football program that Jordon Hudson can't be around the facility anymore," Torre wrote. "Many people around the team heard that message very clearly. You can decide who to trust, in terms of how the PR spin goes from here."

He added: "UNC can now choose to describe or change its position on Jordon Hudson's involvement however it wishes, following the publication of our episode. 

The pair have become the most talked-about couple for many in sports and entertainment media. Interested onlookers and media outlets couldn’t turn away during what was a rough April for Belichick in the press.

The dysfunction has been red meat for news outlets and brought on even more curious onlookers for the experiment.

"Here you have one of the all-time great coaches who, I'm sure, will be a great asset to the football program there and probably it was a little bit unexpected the other attention that's coming with it," said Matthew Hilzik, a communications and legal strategist who handles crisis management in about 20% of his cases.

He added: In these situations where there's so much public interest that goes beyond just sports. It's a cultural thing now. It's something where there's a local piece, there's a regional piece, a national piece. There's going to be a lot of folks who are going to recognize that they can get their own name recognition by advancing the story."

The noise reached a fever pitch after an interview on CBS Sunday Morning episode that aired on April 27 to promote the release of his book, “The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football.” At one point, interviewer Tony Dokoupil asked Belichick how he and Hudson, who sat in off-screen, met. She interrupted before Belichick, a 6-time Super Bowl champion, could answer with a curt “we’re not talking about this.” The interjection grew a life of its own and prompted questions about the nature of their relationship. 

A Belichick statement and Instagram posts from Hudson indicated they met on a flight to Palm Beach, Florida, on Feb. 11, 2021.

As a response, Belichick has reached out to a public relations specialist for help boosting interest in the program and promoting the upcoming release of his book. 

It’s unfamiliar territory for Belichick, known for being frank with media members and not one for the pomp and circumstance of the modern game.

The Miss Maine pageant, in which Hudson is a contestant, is scheduled for this weekend. Hudson has dabbled into several ventures in her young career, including entrepreneur, beauty pageant contestant, burgeoning real estate tycoon, public relations consultant and social media celebrity. She has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram.

Belichick's introductory press conference was almost exactly five months ago, on Dec. 12. Chancellor Lee Roberts and director of athletics Bubba Cunningham were there on what was a momentous day that signified a new commitment to football at UNC. Since then, UNC has sold out its allotment of season tickets for 2025 and finalized plans to open the 2026 season in Ireland. That promise has since been clouded by the relationship bringing unwanted distractions.

Belichick is due to earn $50 million over five years at UNC. Each year, Belichick is due to earn a $1 million base salary and $9 million in supplemental income. The first three years of the deal are guaranteed. The Tar Heels’ season kicks off on Sept. 1 against TCU.