Two of the things for which New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is known for is winning Super Bowls and keeping his nose out of politics. But last month he broke his usual silence to speak out in support of Armenians and their conflict against Azerbaijan.
“I hope that our country will take action against Turkey and Azerbaijan for their unprovoked and deadly attacks on Armenians,” Belichick told the Boston Globe in a Nov. 18 article. In the past, Belichick has joined the Patriots’ Director of Football Operations Berj Najarian, who is of Armenian descent, in bringing Americans’ attention to issues affecting Armenians.
Patriots quarterback Cam Newton has also been vocal about the conflict. On December 6, after the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Chargers, Newton was spotted sporting custom cleats designed by Najarian and bearing the colors of the Armenian flag to show support for Armenia.
But Lexington resident John Sahagian, who is Armenian, sees the gestures differently. “The reason Belichick [spoke out] is he’s familiar with someone who’s Armenian American,” Sahagian, 82, said. “If he didn’t know that person he might not have said anything.”
While Sahagian is happy to see prominent figures like Belichick show their support for the Armenian struggle, he doesn’t believe it will make more Americans care. “People who care about issues such as genocide will discuss this, and get involved with it,” said the retired electronics salesman, but it’s not necessary for other organizations like the Patriots to do so.
When Belichick made these comments last month, Armenia and Azerbaijan had recently agreed to a tenuous ceasefire brokered by Russia. The deal has held up, however tensions are high and there are concerns that peace won’t last much longer.
On Sept. 27, Azeri forces supported by their Turkish allies, invaded the Nagorno-Karabahk region between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Control of the ethnically-Armenian region has been viscously contested since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Sarah Ignatius, executive director of the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research in Belmont, said she believes Turkey’s involvement in the conflict is a continuation of “anti-Armenian sentiment” painfully marked by the Armenian genocide, which occurred in the early twentieth century and resulted in an estimated 1.5 million Armenian deaths. Ignatius also cited claims of human rights abuses in the area, such as the bombing of civilian areas and the use of the chemical weapon white phosphorous.
“This is a complicated, underreported area of the world,” Ignatius said. “What happened there shouldn’t be able to occur without people knowing about it and trying to do something to prevent that in the future.”
Jackson Ripley is a Boston University journalism student writing as part of a collaboration with BU News Service.