CBS News has fired back at legendary football coach Bill Belichick’s claim that he only agreed to a narrow interview about his memoir and that they did not have the greenlight to ask personal questions.

Belichick appeared on CBS News Sunday Morning to discuss his memoir about his life and times in the NFL prior to becoming the head coach at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, but things took a turn for the awkward when his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, injected herself into the conversation while shutting down questions about their relationship. In a statement on Tuesday, Belichick claimed that CBS presented a “false narrative” with “selectively-edited clips” to make it seem like Hudson had meddled into something announced. According to Belichick, he only agreed to interview about his memoir and said Hudson simply wanted to keep the conversation on track.

I agreed to speak with CBS Sunday Morning to promote my new book, ‘The Art of Winning – Lessons from My Life in Football.’ Prior to this interview, I clearly communicated with my publicist at Simon & Schuster that any promotional interviews I participated in would agree to focus solely on the contents of the book.

Unfortunately, that expectation was not honored during the interview. I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book. After this occurred several times, Jordon, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion. She was not deflecting any specific question or topic but simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track. Some of the clips make it appear as though we were avoiding the question of how we met, but we have been open about the fact that Jordon and I met on a flight to Palm Beach in 2021.

The final eight-minute segment does not reflect the productive 35-minute conversation we had, which covered a wide range of topics related to my career. Instead, it presents selectively edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of the interview to suggest a false narrative — that Jordon was attempting to control the conversation — which is simply not true.

CBS News later released a statement disputing the coach, asserting that he agreed to a wide-ranging interview with no designated taboos.

“When we agreed to speak with Mr. Belichick, it was for a wide-ranging interview. There were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation. This was confirmed repeatedly with his publisher before the interview took place and after it was completed,” it said.

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on YouTube, Tubi, or Fawesome TV. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.