A former Patriots assistant coach has broken his silence after landing in hot water for comments he made about how he believes college football players should balance family dynamics and performance.
Joe Judge, an Ole Miss assistant coach who previously spent time in the NFL with New England, received heat as he tried to argue for a sixth year of eligibility for quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. The former Patriots assistant connected the importance of sleep with a controversial example about “pregnant significant others.”
Chambliss did not take a single snap in the 2022 season at Ferris State due to sleep apnea that caused respiratory issues, before the quarterback transferred to Ole Miss. A Mississippi state judge has ruled that he will be able to play an extra season next year.
Judge broke his silence on his comments Saturday afternoon, saying some of them have been “taken out of context.”
“In a discussion about Trinidad’s sleep apnea,” Judge stated in a social media post, “I was trying to point out the importance that the NFL places on sleep for recovery and performance in addition to the education of balancing family dynamics during the football season.”
“These are discussions I was a part of at the professional level from veteran players based on their own experience managing similar situations,” the coach added. “These are not discussions we’ve had at the collegiate level.”
Judge joined Ole Miss in 2024 after serving as the Patriots’ assistant head coach in Bill Belichick’s last season, helping coach special teams in 2023. Judge spent most of his time in New England as the special teams coordinator from 2015 to 2019 before he rejoined the team in 2022 following a disastrous stint as head coach of the Giants.
A clip of Judge’s testimony during a court hearing on Thursday went viral. The segment began with the assistant coach saying, “We would have to educate significant others who may have been pregnant during the season, or were going to have a baby during the season.”
“And you would have to educate them on, you have this baby in the middle of the season, that father has to play good football,” Judge said. “And it’s a day-by-day production business. He has to be ready to perform and go out there and play.”
“And when I say that is, you need to let him sleep,” the coach continued. “He needs to be in the other room, detached. You have to explain to the mother, ‘Hey listen, he ain’t waking up for midnight feedings.’ After the season, he’s a full metal jacket. He can change every diaper, but in season, he’s got to have a different priority.”
Judge instantly received blowback for the comments, including criticism from current and former athletes, reporters, fans and people from all over the country.
Jaguars defensive end Joshua Hines-Allen, whose 8-year-old son is in full remission after being diagnosed with leukemia over a year ago, took a shot at Judge’s comments in an X post on Friday.
“I feel like I’m working harder being a offseason dad than winning a championship,” Hines-Allen said. “Shoutout to my wife and the stay at home moms with kids!”
Taylor Tannebaum, a reporter for ESPN’s ACC Network, psted, “Moms also work. Moms are in school working toward a degree. Mom’s mental matters too.”
Locally, a Patriots fan account, Forever Foxboro, remarked, “I’d say he should stick to coaching but we know how well that’s worked for him.”
Judge finished his statement on Saturday, saying he knows what it’s like to be a father and husband and the “commitment” that comes with the roles.
“As a husband and father of four children,” he wrote, “I understand those challenges firsthand and would never diminish the commitment to family. We share that same dedication to family with our players and always support them through any challenges they face in their personal lives.”
