Daniel Boczarski/Getty; Cindy Ord/Getty Rob Gronkowski joked about his former coach and Jordon Hudson's relationship The retired New England Patriots star initially defended the former college cheerleader's role in an interview Bill Belichick gave to CBS Gronk calls the age difference between the 73-year-old and the 24-year-old "funny" Gronk went there! Days after declaring the relationship betweenBill BelichickandJordon Hudsona "distraction," retired NFL starRob Gronkowskidoubled down on his perspective about his former coach and the former college cheerleader. At the Fox upfronts on Monday, May 12, the former New England Patriots tight end had an unexpected rejoinder after a fellow presenter on stage joked aboutRupert Murdoch's first upfront. "Well, of course, back in 1962, Fox wasn't even a twinkle in Rupert Murdoch's eye," Fox News analyst Harris Faulkner said. "Fox didn't begin broadcasting until 1986." Gronkowski — who turns 36 on May 14 — quipped: "Well, in 1986, Coach Belichick's girlfriend wasn't a twinkle in her father's eye." The Hall of Famer's comments come less than a week after Gronkowski publicly shared his opinion about the couple, calling the age difference between the 73-year-old coach and his 24-year-old girlfriend "funny." "You know, and in the back of your head, too, you're just thinking to yourself as well, 'When you were on the Patriots, the whole goal was to eliminate all the distractions that can possibly happen while you're on the team,' " the former tight end said in an interview on98.5 The Sports Hub. Gronkowski continued, "And don't bring those distractions to the team and in the locker room, and we're just looking down at the program in North Carolina and it feels like there are just distractions 24/7 down there. There's no football talk as well." The retired pro athlete was initially supportive when commenting on the controversial relationship. While on their podcastDudes on Dudeslast month, Gronk and former teammateJulian Edelmanshowed solidarity for Belichick, who has come under scrutinyfollowing the awkward interviewhe gave to CBS. "People are giving an unfair reality of what's going on," Edelman, 38, argued, explaining that Hudson was acting as a "representative" when she was shown on camera interrupting correspondent Tony Dokoupil's interview onCBS Sunday Morning. Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Gronkowski agreed that Hudson was acting as the University of North Carolina football coach's representative — and then made a joke regarding her name and the school. "No one's really putting this together," Gronk cracked, as the screen flashed a picture ofMichael Jordanplaying for the team in the 80s. "When your name is Jordon and you're on the University of North Carolina Tar Heels campus, you're God." Read the original article onPeople
