Indianapolis reporter Mike Chappell becomes second Hall of Fame voter to explain why he didn’t vote for Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick’s failure to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot has sparked one of the biggest controversies in the history of the selection process.

The idea that a coach with six Super Bowl rings and 333 career wins wouldn’t be a unanimous first-ballot selection seemed impossible. Yet when the votes were tallied, Belichick fell short of the 80% threshold needed for enshrinement. At least 11 of the 50 voters didn’t check his name on their ballots, leaving one of the sport’s most decorated figures waiting another year.

Everyone, from fans to media members to Hall of Famers, demanded answers. Who were these voters? What rationale could possibly justify leaving Belichick off a first-ballot? Spygate? Deflategate? Belichick’s famously prickly relationship with reporters?

After the Kansas City Star‘s Vahe Gregorian stepped forward to explain his vote — saying he supported senior candidates with limited windows for enshrinement rather than voting against Belichick — attention turned to who else would identify themselves.

The second voter to go public was Mike Chappell of Fox 59/CBS 4 in Indianapolis.

And his reasoning takes a very different approach than Gregorian’s.

Chappell wrote that he didn’t vote against Belichick. He voted for Robert Kraft. But unlike Gregorian, who explicitly said the cheating scandals played no role in his thinking, Chappell acknowledged that Spygate factored into his decision to choose the Patriots owner over the Patriots coach.

I’m not going to dive too deeply into my Kraft over Belichick decision. I know it won’t change anyone’s mind. But I did take into consideration:

• Kraft’s role in building the Patriots dynasty beginning in 1994 AND his undeniable role in helping negotiate the end of the 100-play-day work stoppage in 2011 – while his wife was gravely ill – that has resulted in long-standing labor peace. He’s also been involved behind the scenes in bolstering the NFL’s ever-increasing TV revenue.
• Belichick and Spygate. There’s no denying the staggering numbers (333 wins, second only to Don Shula’s 347) and Super Bowl championships (six as the Patriots head coach, two more as a New York Giants’ assistant).

DeflateGate also was brought up during the Belichick discussion.

But there’s no erasing the stain of Spygate from his bio. This wasn’t alleged behavior. The NFL fined Belichick $500,000 – the maximum allowed – along with docking the Patriots $250,000 and a first-round draft pick for illegally videotaping New York Jets signals in 2007.

Gregorian used all three of his available votes on senior candidates Ken Anderson, Roger Craig, and L.C. Greenwood, arguing they faced narrowing windows for enshrinement while Belichick would inevitably get in soon. Chappell took a different path. He voted for Kraft and two senior candidates, which meant making an explicit choice between the two Patriots figures who defined the dynasty.

Chappell explained that he generally favors senior candidates because they won’t get another chance if the Seniors Committee doesn’t bring them back. But that doesn’t fully explain why he chose Kraft over Belichick when both would presumably have future opportunities for induction

One other factor steered my voting.

I’m not in favor of grouping Senior candidates with coaches and contributors, but that’s above my pay grade. Most of the time, I’m going to lean toward supporting a Senior nominee(s). If that player or players doesn’t get the necessary support when presented by the Seniors Committee, there’s a very good chance they’ll never again be considered.

I voted for one coach/contributor (Kraft) and two senior candidates.

Chappell insisted Belichick belongs in the Hall of Fame and expects him to get in next year. He dismissed media speculation that Belichick’s prickly relationship with reporters influenced votes, calling that “asinine.” And he acknowledged Kraft and Belichick likely pulled votes from each other.

Two voters have now explained themselves with completely different rationales. Gregorian blamed the system. Chappell cited Spygate while choosing Kraft over Belichick. We don’t know what the other nine or more voters who left Belichick off were thinking. But we now know for certain that at least one voter explicitly weighed the cheating scandals when filling out his ballot.