ESPN reporter’s co-host slams ‘total jerk’ Bill Belichick for awkward sideline interview
Stormy Buonantony got her first taste of what many football reporters have experienced over the last three decades: the painful Bill Belichick interview. And her co-host is upset with how the 74-year-old treated her.
During Saturday’s ACC matchup between North Carolina and Clemson, the ESPN sideline reporter spoke with Belichick during one of the breaks in action.
Despite being up 14-3 at the time, the NFL legend-turned-college coach gave a vintage performance while providing Buonantony with a ton of non-answers.
Buonantony wore the moment with pride, telling her broadcast partner that she “made it out alive.” She also shared that Belichick was more open to the broadcasting crew days before.
Buonantony also hosts VSiN’s “Money Moves,” and during Monday’s episode, her co-host, Jonathan Von Tobel, gave his outlook on the awkward encounter.
Von Tobel said felt compelled to stick up for Buonantony after she once defended him from a stranger who “accosted” him.
“Those same emotions that you felt on that fateful day, I felt this last Saturday watching you on the sideline with Bill Belichick,” Von Tobel said, according to Awful Announcing. “Bill Belichick was a complete and total a-hole to you. It was absolutely ridiculous. The people that are trying to come in and say, like, ‘oh, don’t cry about it’ or whatever, it was absolutely unprofessional.
“He is an absolute jerk, and especially somebody who had worked in media briefly but still had done it. Had talked and connected with you the day prior and did that to you. That is stupid. He is an a-hole, and I hope that all of you will agree with me on this. And a lot of people were trying to fight back on me. No, you don’t do that to my co-host. I am the one that gets to do those sorts of things. I am the one that gets to push buttons. I am the one that gets to ignore on purpose. But you don’t do that to her, especially don’t do it on purpose. You’re a jerk, Belichick. I’m glad you lost the game.”
The Tar Heels took their first loss of the season, falling to the Tigers 28-20 after a two-hour, 30-minute weather delay.
Belichick, whose son Steve resigned after a school investigation into the program’s culture, gets a bye week before facing No. 3 Notre Dame on Oct. 3.