With the holidays around the corner, streaming season is hitting its annual peak, and VICE TV has a new series that will be an eye catcher for anyone who keeps up with sports through a cultural lens.
If you’re a fan of scandals, Out Of Bounds may be your new niche. Covering some of the biggest scandals in the sports world, Out Of Bounds premieres tonight with its first three episodes covering some of the most controversial topics in sports right now.
Packing a punch in its first episode, the series covers legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick, who has been making consistent headlines for nearly everything but football over the past couple of years.
No stranger to controversy over the course of his career, from deflating footballs that aided one of New England’s many Super Bowl victories to his notorious obsessive control issues, the episode focuses on his infamous relationship with 24-year-old Jordan Hudson, who is nearly 50 years his junior.
From the original Ring camera footage that went viral showing the 73-year-old Belichick doing a shirtless walk of shame that opened up Pandora’s box, to the infamous CBS Sunday Morning interview in which Hudson was first seen acting as a PR consultant on behalf of Belichick, telling journalist Tony Dokoupil “We’re not talking about this” when he asked Belichick about the nature of their relationship before Belichick could get a word in.
All of this is extremely problematic in general, but when you consider Belichick’s long standing reputation for demanding full and complete control and cooperation from his players, coaching staff, and front office, it is easy to imagine the shock that set in when viewers saw him taking orders from a 24-year-old Hudson during a live interview.
This, among the various other aspects discussed in the episode, has football fans and non sports media consumers alike asking the same questions. What is going on behind closed doors? Are there hidden agendas? Does anyone gain more from the relationship than others?
From leaving the NFL and starting a new journey at UNC Chapel Hill as the program’s football coach, all eyes have been on Belichick over the past couple of years, with his relationship remaining at the forefront.
Notorious for his reluctance to cooperate with the media and his general dislike for the shenanigans that come with the job, especially given his level of success, the emergence of a boisterous 24-year-old who has seemingly taken the reins of Belichick has been shocking.
From being added to Belichick Productions as Chief Operating Officer, to serving as an unsolicited assistant coach at UNC, seen on the field and in the locker room during practices and games, and even allegedly being the sole reason HBO’s docuseries Hard Knocks chose to part ways with UNC during Belichick’s first season as a collegiate head coach, which would have also been the first ever college edition of the series, Hudson’s name has become known for all the wrong reasons.
Through narrative and story development, along with a wide range of interviews from sports and non sports media members, UNC faculty and staff, and others knowledgeable about the relationship, the story is told not out of sensationalism, but in search of answers to the questions surrounding one of the biggest controversies in sports of the decade.
When it comes to legacy, the longer you stay in the limelight after your prime, the harder it becomes to maintain it, and Belichick is no exception. If you want to be entertained and gain a real glimpse into this extremely controversial relationship, the first episode will leave you wanting more.
