Bill Belichick's snub demands a Hall of Fame reckoning

The failure to elect Belichick on the first ballot exposes a voting system that hides accountability and risks turning football's highest honor into a farce.

Over the last decade, tens of millions of dollars have flowed through Canton, Ohio, to enhance the Pro Football Hall of Fame to a year-round football mecca. The stadium has expanded, the Hall of Fame Village has added a small theme park and restaurants, and you can even rent out space for your company outings.

Those are millions of dollars we now know have been wasted. There is no need to go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame anymore. If Bill Belichick is not a first ballot member of the hall, then it is not a hall at all.

ESPN first reported Tuesday, and CBS Sports confirmed, Belichick will not be enshrined into the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot. It is unclear how many of the 50 committee members did not vote for Belichick, but more than 10 did not.

When it comes to sports honors, this is the grossest miscarriage of justice in sports history. It has no equal. Even if Belichick gets voted in next year, this remains true.

I could take up plenty of internet space listing off Belichick's career achievements. His six Super Bowl titles as a head coach -- two more than anyone else. Or his two as the Giants defensive coordinator. Or the other three he coached in but didn't win. How his 302 career wins are third all time and how his 31 postseason wins are more than anyone else. Truly, the list could keep going.