BOCA RATON, Fla. -- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was in a tough spot Monday at the NFL’s annual meeting.
Outside of going rogue in a rage and declaring that he was taking the league to court, little he could say would appease part of the fan base that believes he too quickly accepted Roger Goodell’s Deflategate penalties last May. So Kraft essentially asked fans to consider the full body of his 22 years of work and give him the benefit of the doubt.
“I think we’ve put our opinion out how that should be handled, but once again, we’ve done everything we can do and actually I want our fans to know that I empathize with the way they feel,” he said. “There is no one [more than me] who wants every edge and put this team in the best position we can do to win.
“I just say, you think of the 34 years before we bought the team, and now we’ve just finished 22 years [as owners]. We’ve had the privilege of going to 11 conference championship games. That’s one every other year, and I think eight teams in this period have never gone to a championship game, 25 percent of the league.
“We’ve gone to seven Super Bowls and won 15 division championships. So I don’t think anyone can doubt that we’re trying to do everything we can to put ourselves in the best position to win, and have the Patriots franchise be very strong.”
When Kraft accepted the NFL’s penalties, he did so with a strategy in mind that it would help quarterback Tom Brady win his appeal of the four-game suspension. It was a miscalculation, of course, which he later said he regretted in an unforgettable July statement in which he lashed out by saying, “I was wrong to put my faith in the league.”
Kraft can’t undo that decision now, and the residue of it remains. On Monday, he sounded like a boxer who had made it to the end of the fight, knowing that the judges holding the scorecards wouldn’t soon be announcing a decision in his favor. His most recent efforts included writing a letter to Goodell over a month ago asking him to return the team’s draft picks and to take Brady’s suspension off the table.
The league isn’t commenting on whether it received the letter, but Kraft’s response when asked what he heard from Goodell was telling. He paused for a moment, and with disappointment written across his face, said he was moving on from the topic.
That includes not pursuing legal action because, “When you join the NFL, it’s a partnership and you agree to abide by certain rules and conditions. We have tried to work the system as best we can.”
The irony, of course, is that the commissioner Kraft helped put into the position of power is the one stonewalling his efforts as part of that system, in part by not releasing PSI results publicly to possibly exonerate the franchise.
Again, this put Kraft in a tough spot, as he balances league interests and the damage done to his franchise. When asked his thoughts on Goodell, he said, “Putting personal situations aside, I think he’s done a very good job. He’s worked hard. The health of the league has not been better. We have our issue that we don’t think has been handled well. But it is what it is.”
Kraft had pretty much run out of words to say at that point, so he turned to Bill Belichick's common refrain.
A happy ending is highly unlikely for the club, as it would be a major upset if the draft picks are returned and Brady’s suspension was lifted. Asking his fans to look at his full body of work on Monday, Kraft himself seems resigned to that outcome.