Mary Kay Cabot receives Hall of Fame award, tells killer Bill Belichick zinger

CANTON — Mary Kay Cabot refused to back down as she battled threats, stereotypes and misogyny throughout her trailblazing career as a Browns beat writer.She wasn't about to pull any punches Friday night at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Gold Jacket Dinner as she received the Bill Nunn Award, which is presented by the Pro Football Writers of America to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football. The Nunn Award winners have a place in the Hall.Cabot took light jabs at the 49 starting quarterbacks she's covered during her time with the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com."About 47 of them blamed their benching on me," she said in her acceptance speech. "Brandon Weeden gets trapped under the flag? My fault! Johnny Manziel forgets to read the playbook, my fault!"She landed a haymaker on former Browns and Patriots coach Bill Belichick.Cabot began covering the Browns in the late 1980s and was the main beat writer in 1991 when Belichick started his first head coaching job. They butted heads on several occasions."If Bill didn't like something I wrote, he'd call and yell at me," she said. "If you asked a dumb question, he'd call you out. Eventually I had to learn to stand up to him. During one of those yelling matches, I told him, if you don't have the 'footballs' to say it to the guys, then don't say it to me."Belichick is starting his first year as the coach at the University of North Carolina and has been all over the news and social media for his relationship with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson."Now I totally understand why Bill gave me such a hard time," Cabot said. "I was 28 at the time — and he just couldn't relate to a woman that old."Belichick won six Super Bowls and will make the Hall of Fame five years after he coached his final NFL game. Cabot beat him to Canton.Cabot was one of the first female beat writers in the NFL and dealt with the backlash inside and outside locker rooms. She persevered, breaking countless stories with an unwavering tenacity.She did it all while raising three kids."I don't see a lot of women in this role with multiple kids, but I'm here to tell you it can be done," she said. "You just need help. I had my amazing mom and incredible husband, and there's no way I'd be standing up here tonight without either of them."Browns coach Kevin Stefanski mentioned Cabot before practice Friday."Unbelievable honor for Mary Kay," he said. "Well-deserved. So congratulations again to her."The post Mary Kay Cabot receives Hall of Fame award, tells killer Bill Belichick zinger first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.