FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Bill Belichick is often depicted as cold, detached, unfeeling, dour.

Wednesday afternoon, he was none of those.

Additional Photos

OPENING UP: New England Patriots NFL football head coach Bill Belichick addressed the media about the Aaron Hernadez situation on Wednesday in Foxborough, Mass. Belichick said it was a sad day, expressed sympath for the family of Odin Lloyd and said the organization will work hard to do better in the player evaluation process. AP

Speaking for approximately 22 minutes in a press conference specifically called to address the Aaron Hernandez situation before training camp begins Friday, the New England Patriots head coach was candid and very human.

Belichick stressed throughout the press conference that he couldn’t answer any questions specific to Hernandez because he had been “advised not to comment on any on-going legal proceedings. And our players have been advised the same.”

But starting with his opening statement, which lasted about seven minutes, it was obvious that he has been affected by the events of the last month.

“It’s a sad day, it really is a sad day on so many levels,” he said. “A young man lost his life, his family has suffered a tragic loss. There’s no way to understate that.”

Hernandez, a former tight end for the Patriots, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Odin Lloyd on June 26. The Patriots released Hernandez — who had signed a five-year, $40 million contract extension less than a year earlier — within an hour.

Hernandez, who was back in court while Belichick spoke, has pleaded not guilty.

Belichick was out of the country when he learned about the investigation into Hernandez. “I and other members of the organization were shocked and disappointed with what we learned.”

And he said, “we acted swiftly and decisively” when Hernandez was arrested.

The situation, he said, has caused the organization — perhaps especially himself — to look at the way they do things. As coach, he said, he is personally responsible for the players in his locker room.

When something like this happens, it reflects badly on everything the organization stands for — and on their judgement.

He understands that, saying that the Patriots will look at ways to improve their evaluation process, whether it’s for incoming veterans or college players. They’ll look to improve the way the counsel their players once they become members of the organization, not only about football, but about life.

“I think that we’ll continue to try to look at ourselves in the mirror and see where we can do a better job, maybe where we can improve the process,” he said. “But I think the fundamentals of the process will remain the same.”

As bad as this situation is, he stressed that the team has many players in its locker room who are model citizens and role models.

“This case involves an individual who happened to be a New England Patriot,” said Belichick, who spoke Hernandez’ name just once in 22 minutes. “We certainly do not condone unacceptable behavior. And this does not in any way represent the way that the New England Patriots want to do things.”

Asked how the Patriots could have missed the red flags that accompanied Hernandez before the team drafted him in 2010 — he slipped to the fourth round because of several character issues — Belichick spoke extensively about the process the team uses to evaluate players.

“I can tell you that we look at every player’s history from the moment we start discussing it, going back to his family, where he grew up, what his lifestyle was like, high school, college experiences,” Belichick said. “We evaluate his performance, his intelligence, his work ethic, his motivation, his maturity, his improvement and we try to project that into our organization on a going forward basis. It combines a player’s personal history, but again it also has to project what we think and how we think he will be in our environment.

“Obviously, this process is far from perfect, but it’s one that we’ve used from 2000 until today. Unfortunately this most recent situation with the charges are involved is not a good one on that record.”

There have been many instances throughout the years when Belichick has been less forthcoming to the media — such as Spygate, when he essentially threatened to end the press conference unless the next question dealt with football and not allegations of cheating — but with more allegations about Hernandez coming out seemingly daily, there was no way Belichick, or the Patriots, could ignore this situation.

Today, the team — in another unprecedented move — will make the 2012 captains (Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo, Devin McCourty, Logan Mankins and Matthew Slater) available to the media. Certainly, questions about Hernandez will be asked.

You can expect the answers to be similar to the one Brady gave to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, when asked about Hernandez recently: “I have moved on.”

Belichick said as much Wednesday. Asked how this franchise can move forward, he spoke about the simple task ahead. Training camp opens Friday. There’s a season to prepare for.

“I’ve been asked to address this once,” Belichick said. “It’s time for the New England Patriots to move forward.

“Moving forward consists of what it’s always been here: build a winning football team, be a strong pillar in the community, be a team that fans can be proud of.”

That might take some doing this year, but Belichick understands that. And he wants the fans to know that the team is doing everything it can to regain that trust.

“We stress high character and we stress making good decisions,” Belichick said. “We’ll continue to do this and we’ll work to do a better job of it as we go forward. We’ll learn from this terrible experience that we’ve had. We’ll become a better team from the lessons that we’ve learned. “

Related Stories