Charles Barkley concerned for longtime friend Bill Belichick amid Jordon Hudson drama

Charles Barkley has been “really good friends” with Bill Belichick since the early 1990s, long before the first-year North Carolina head football coach’s 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson was born. It’s because of that decades-long friendship that Barkley is now expressing some serious concern about what he’s seen with regard to Belichick’s very-public relationship with Hudson.

“Well, this is a very slippery subject for me, because Bill’s one of my really good friends,” Barkley told Dan Patrick on Wednesday’s The Dan Patrick Show. “I’m not sure what’s going on. He’s been a great friend for me for a long time. We’ve been great friends since he coached for the (Cleveland) Browns. I think he’s got to be very careful right now. This is starting to be on a very slippery slope. He’s the greatest football coach ever — him and Nick Saban. For college, Nick Saban. For Bill, the NFL.

“From what I’m hearing, it’s starting to be a very slippery slope. And I never talk about people’s personal relationships — that’s another rule I got. But, I will admit, I’m a little concerned with some of the stuff that’s going on. I might actually reach out to him to make sure everything’s good. But I am concerned from what I’m hearing, because it’s not a good look, right now, I’ll admit that.”

"He's been a great friend of mine for a long time… I never talk about people's personal relationships, that's a rule I have, but I will admit I'm a little concerned with some of the stuff going on, and I might actually reach out to him."

-Charles Barkley on Bill Belichick pic.twitter.com/b6xtN7nL5D

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) April 30, 2025

The 73-year-old Belichick’s romantic relationship with Hudson, nearly 50 years his junior, has raised plenty of eyebrows around the sports world, especially after a recent interview with CBS Sunday Morning in which Hudson reportedly exerted some undue influence. The interview, which was intended to promote Belichick’s upcoming memoir, “The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football,” reportedly went off the rails when Hudson allegedly stormed off the set, delaying shooting for 30 minutes, according to a recent report from TMZ.

Hudson’s controlling influence over Belichick’s public persona has even led to some within the North Carolina program to a “growing sense this could become a problem,” per TMZ. Earlier this month, a report in The Athletic revealed Hudson is listed as the chief operating officer (COO) of Belichick Productions. However, she is not currently listed in any official capacity on North Carolina’s athletic department online staff directory according to the team’s website.

Former ESPN reporter Pablo Torre revealed Hudson is acting like Belichick’s “de facto agent” in February: “She’s the person who you need to go through to book Bill Belichick for a Super Bowl commercial or for the other commitments he has as a multi-platform personality. She’s the gateway.”

It’s that perceived reliquishing of control that Patrick suggested is most out-of-character for a “control freak” like Belichick, and Barkely appeared to agree.

“Yeah, listen, man, I have very strict rules on things, like don’t ask me no personal questions. Nobody in my family can speak. No, I’m the one who’s famous. I’m the one who has to deal with all the crap,” Barkley added. “No, don’t say anything. Because if you say something, it’s just gonna muddy the water. That’s what I call it. If any family member speaks out, it’s gonna muddy the water.

“And, yeah, I’m a little concerned, I’ll admit that. Because he’s my friend through good, bad, and whatever. I just hope everything’s alright.”