新英格兰爱国者队的主教练比尔·贝利奇克周一表示，他拒绝接受总统授予的总统自由勋章唐纳德·特朗普引用上周三对美国国会大厦的围攻，这部分是由特朗普煽动的。
“最近，我获得了获得总统自由勋章的机会，出于对这一荣誉所代表的意义的尊重和对先前获奖者的钦佩，我对这一荣誉感到荣幸。随后，上周的悲剧事件发生了，并决定不继续颁奖说在ESPN获得的一份声明中。
“最重要的是，我是一名美国公民，非常尊重我们国家的价值观、自由和民主。我知道我也代表我的家庭和新英格兰爱国者队，”他继续说道。“我职业生涯中最有收获的一件事发生在2020年，当时，通过我们团队中的卓越领导，关于社会正义、平等和人权的对话被推到了前沿，并成为行动。继续这些努力，同时忠于我所爱的人、团队和国家，这比任何个人奖项的好处都要多。”
美国广播公司新闻向白宫寻求评论。
周一早些时候，一名白宫官员向美国广播公司证实，特朗普计划于周四在白宫举行的仪式上向贝利奇克颁发自由勋章。
贝利奇克一直面临着来自体育界和政界人士的公众压力，要求他拒绝这一荣誉，因为这位即将离任的总统在帮助煽动一群支持者攻击美国国会大厦时，谎称2020年的选举是从他那里偷来的，从而面临着政治风暴。
当白宫宣布特朗普计划再次向爱国者贝利奇克致敬时发现自己陷入了困境团队与特朗普的关系。
特朗普一再称赞爱国者队是“赢家”，吹捧他与贝利奇克以及前爱国者队四分卫、明星汤姆·布拉迪和球队老板罗伯特·卡夫的友好关系。他曾与布雷迪和贝利奇克一起打高尔夫球，与卡夫在佛罗里达州的马拉拉俱乐部共进晚餐，甚至作为2016年的候选人和当选总统，他建议他们支持他的总统任期。
众议院民主党人提交了一份针对特朗普的弹劾条款周一，特朗普的支持者在国会山发生暴力骚乱，造成五人死亡。
此前，特朗普和他最热情的支持者在2020年选举后的几周内，对选举舞弊提出虚假指控，敦促他的支持者做出“强烈”回应，并表示抗议将是“疯狂的”。在国会大厦被包围前几小时，总统在一次集会上向支持者发表讲话当天，参议院准备证明当选总统乔·拜登在选举团的胜利，并鼓励他们前往国会大厦抗议选举结果。
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick declines to accept Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump
Bill Belichick, the head coach of the New England Patriots, said on Monday that he is declining to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom from PresidentDonald Trump, citing last Wednesday's siege of the U.S. Capitol, which was partly incited by Trump.
"Recently, I was offered the opportunity to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which I was flattered by out of respect for what the honor represents and admiration for prior recipients. Subsequently, the tragic events of last week occurred and the decision has been made not to move forward with the award," Belichicksaidin a statement obtained by ESPN.
"Above all, I am an American citizen with great reverence for our nation’s values, freedom and democracy. I know I also represent my family and the New England Patriots team," he continued. "One of the most rewarding things in my professional career took place in 2020 when, through the great leadership within our team, conversations about social justice, equality and human rights moved to the forefront and became actions. Continuing those efforts while remaining true to the people, team and county I love outweigh the benefits of any individual award."
ABC News reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump had planned to present Belichick with the Medal of Freedom in a ceremony at the White House on Thursday, a White House official confirmed to ABC News earlier on Monday.
Belichick had been facing public pressure from the sports world and politicians to decline the honor as the outgoing president faces a political firestorm after he helped incite a mob of supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol over false claims the 2020 election was stolen from him.
When the White House announced that Trump planned to honor Belichick, the Patriots againfound themselves in the hot seatover the team's ties with Trump.
Trump has repeatedly hailed the Patriots as "winners," touted his friendly relationships with Belichick as well as former Patriots quarterback and star Tom Brady and team owner Robert Kraft. He has golfed with Brady and Belichick, dined with Kraft at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida and has even suggested as a candidate and president-elect in 2016 that they supported his presidency.
House Democratsfiled an article of impeachment against Trumpfor "incitement of insurrection" on Monday after the violent riot of Trump supporters on Capitol Hill left five people dead.
The riot came after Trump and his most ardent supporters spent weeks after the 2020 election making false claims of election fraud, urging his supporters to have a "strong" response and stated that the protests will be "wild." Hours before the Capitol siege, the presidentaddressed the group of supporters at a rallyon the day that the Senate was set to certify the Electoral College victory of President-elect Joe Biden and encouraged them to head to the Capitol to protest the results.
