The NFL lost one of its legendary figures in May of last year with the passing of former Cleveland Browns star Jim Brown at 87. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in football history, Brown was equally known for his civil rights activism and community work.
While the Browns have already retired his iconic No. 32 jersey and erected a statue of him outside Huntington Bank Field, former Browns and New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has gone a step further by advocating for the number to be retired across the entire NFL.
While appearing on the Let’s Go! podcast on SiriusXM, Belichick shared his thoughts with NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, expressing that the NFL should follow Major League Baseball’s example of retiring Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 by doing the same with Brown’s No. 32, via NBC Sports:
“I was having a conversation the other day talking about Jim Brown and I think it’d be a great move for the NFL to retire his number, like baseball did with Jackie [Robinson],” Belichick said.
“I try to teach our players that all the time, every chance I get, the history of the game, the history of your position, the history of the players that came before you and that paved the way,” Belichick continued. “You know, the game just didn’t get great when you walked on the field, and sometimes they need to be reminded of that.
When I brought Jim Brown back to Cleveland the first time in ‘92, well ‘91 then he came back in ‘92. And, honestly, the rookies that he talked to didn’t really know who Jim was. I never made that mistake again.”
“I made sure that, before I introduced him, they got a good look at him on the field and off the field and the things that he did not only for the game,” he said. “So when I have an opportunity to talk to a team, people are gonna learn the history of the game whether they want to or not.”
