Robert Kraft: Bill Belichick “unequivocally deserves” to be a unanimous Hall of Famer

Patriots owner Robert Kraft has weighed in on former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick falling short of election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Kraft and Belichick joined three seniors candidates — Ken Anderson, Roger Craig, and L.C. Greenwood — on a ballot that called for members of the selection committee to vote for three of the five names. Candidates must receive 80 percent of that vote in order to be elected and Belichick failed to reach that number.

That has led to widespread criticism of both the process and the choices made by members of the selection committee. On Wednesday, Kraft issued a statement siding with those who find it hard to believe that the coach who led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles was not voted into the Hall.

“Whatever perceptions may exist about any personal differences between Bill and me, I strongly believe Bill Belichick’s record and body of work speak for themselves,” Kraft said in a statement to the Associated Press. “As head coach of the New England Patriots for more than two decades, he set the standard for on-field excellence, preparation, and sustained success in the free agency and salary cap era of the National Football League. He is the greatest coach of all time and he unequivocally deserves to be a unanimous first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer.”

The perceived animosity that Kraft referenced in his statement made the prospect of the two men being inducted at the same time an intriguing one, but this summer’s ceremony in Canton could wind up taking place without either one of them having a reason to be in attendance.