Bill Belichick made heads turn recently when he was spotted trying to dap up his latest UNC recruits. Cam Newton, a former quarterback under Belichick, said he loved the effort from his ex-head coach. However, he also noted that there was plenty of room for improvement. To Newton, Belichick was being too aggressive when he should have been matching the energy of the person he was dapping up.
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Daps are seen as a symbol of “solidarity and unity,” many say. They reportedly originated among Black soldiers during the Vietnam War, but today, most youngsters use them as a common greeting. That legendary dap between Carl Weathers and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie Predator will live on forever as well — it’s that good of a dap. But if we judge Belichick’s, it wasn’t even close.
While it was commendable to see Belichick try to be friendly to the 16-17-year-olds, his method didn’t impress many, especially Newton. Reacting to the viral clip of the Tar Heels HC with his recruits, Newton started by saying, “Okay. Oh, yeah. That’s bad,” as if witnessing a trainwreck.
Breaking it down further, Newton added, “The old slap and tap and push. The slap, tap, yeah, he tried to go in but was very aggressive. A little shake at the end to confirm.”
The critique was hilarious. Many wondered how Belichick was going to try to appeal to the youth during recruiting. Well, we just got our first look at it. He seems a bit uncultured, but that was expected. Don’t worry Bill, Newton’s got you covered with some dap education. Or as he coins it: Daponomics 101.
“Bill, I love you,” Newton said as he sparked a cigar. “I really do. This goes out to all of my white constituents that are out there. Because when y’all get into a setting where there are some soul brothers and we go in for an expected dap. A dap can be considered a way of embracing… When all else fails, you have to keep your palm straight and it has to match the intensity of the giver.”
What Belichick did was far from what Newton described. Bill looked almost robotic at times. As if he couldn’t lean into a dap after a certain point in the exchange.
That’s what Newton referred to as the “slap and tap.” Belichick couldn’t fully embrace his subjects and instead decided to just tap the guys on the shoulder. And, Newton sees that as a major mistake in a dap-up exchange, because you are doing your own thing rather than matching the intensity.
Cam had other solutions for his former coach as well,
“If that’s too much, when all else fails, slap and hug. See this is the thing. Above all on any type of dap, what you must have- what you must have is confidence. Because you’re transferring energy.”
The advice seemed to be partially in jest, but Newton also offered some solid pointers to Belichick. And if he wants to better connect with his recruits in the future, he should take them. Furthermore, how has his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordan Hudson, not seen this clip and considered giving her older boyfriend some tips?
She’s been vocal about introducing him to social media and other new-gen trends. You have to think this will be the next teaching moment between the two.
It must feel like a whole new world for Belichick. Just two years ago, he was carrying on his legendary NFL coaching career as he had for the past 30 years. But now, he’s dating a social media influencer in her 20s, who’s showing him how to connect with the younger generation for his new job as a college coach. What a world.
