Over the course of her career, Mary Kay Cabot has written plenty of headlines. Now the longtime Cleveland Browns beat writer is becoming the subject of them.
Such is life as a Hall of Famer, as Cabot accepted the Pro Football Writers of America’s Bill Nunn Memorial Award during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Gold Jacket Dinner on Friday. During her speech, the Cleveland.com writer recalled her early days covering Bill Belichick on the Browns beat before making reference to the recent headlines the now-North Carolina head coach has generated.
“Fortunately, I went to the school of hard knocks in the NFL because Bill Belichick was the first Browns coach I ever covered,” she said. “You see, if you start out with Bill Belichick, no one can rattle you after that. If Bill didn’t like something I wrote, he’d call and yell at me. If you asked a dumb question, he’d call you out. Eventually, I had to learn to stand up to him. During one of those yelling matches, I told him, if you don’t have the ‘footballs’ to say that to the guys, then don’t say it to me. Bam.
“But now I totally understand why Bill gave me such a hard time. I was 28 at the time, and he just couldn’t relate to a woman that old.”
Belichick, as you may have heard, is dating 24-year-old Jordon Hudson.
.@MaryKayCabot with the one-liner of the year. I’m crying 😂🤣😂🤣
(🎥 via https://t.co/SaJ0lj4fsP) pic.twitter.com/e0NF10V3jy
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 2, 2025
Between her well-crafted delivery and the viral nature of all things Belichick, it didn’t take long for Cabot’s punchline to make the rounds. And that included a story from the New York Post, whose headline — “Browns reporter takes savage shot at Bill Belichick-Jordon Hudson romance in Hall of Fame speech” — she took issue with.
“It was a joke! Not a ‘savage shot.’ Just a little joke!” she wrote while reposting the story on X. “You can see that from my delivery. All in good fun!”
It was a joke! Not a “savage shot.” Just a little joke! You can see that from my delivery. All in good fun! https://t.co/X59TJfEI7Q
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 3, 2025
The line was clearly a joke. And while the meaning of “savage shot” could be open to interpretation, there wasn’t any apparent malice behind the one-liner.
Unsurprisingly, Hudson seemingly wasn’t a fan of the comment, as the former Bridgewater State cheerleader has since reposted a criticism of it to her X feed. That, however, doesn’t make the joke any less funny or change the reality that was, in fact, just that.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.