Robert Kraft ‘reluctantly’ accepts Deflategate punishment, won’t appeal
Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters he will reluctantly accept the league’s punishment for his organization’s role in the Deflategate scandal on Tuesday.
“I don’t want to continue the rhetoric that’s gone on for the last four months – I’m going to accept, reluctantly, what he has given to us, and not continue this dialogue and rhetoric, and we won’t appeal,’’ he said at a meeting of the NFL owners in San Francisco.
The NFL fined the Patriots $1 million and docked them their 2016 first- and 2017 fourth-round picks five days after the release of a report by investigator Ted Wells in which it was found “more probable than not’’ that two team personnel were involved in a scheme to deflate footballs before the AFC Championship game.
Quarterback Tom Brady was suspended four games after the league found it likely he was “at least generally aware’’ of the tampering and did not fully cooperate with investigators. Kraft’s acceptance of the league’s punishment does not preclude Brady’s ongoing appeal, NFLPA spokesman George Atallah said.
Kraft did not admit any wrongdoing by the Patriots and maintained his stance the punishments were “unreasonable and unprecedented,’’ citing the good of the league rather than his own as a key factor in his decision.
“The heart and soul of the strength of the NFL [is] that it’s a partnership of 32 teams, and what’s become very clear over those two decades [since I’ve owned the Patriots is] that at no time should the agenda of one team outweight the collective good of the full 32,’’ Kraft said.
After the league announced the punishments, a report emerged that Kraft’s close relationship with commissioner Roger Goodell had all but ended, but Kraft said in his statement he has respect for the commissioner and still believes in him. The pair reportedly hugged earlier Tuesday.
Kraft initially said he would accept the league’s punishment when the Wells Report was released, but appeared to backtrack on those statements after the scope of punishments was revealed. A few days later, the team released a rebuttal slamming Wells’ report as incomplete.
The NFLPA has since retained the services of attorney and NFL foe Jeffrey Kessler on behalf of Brady as he appeals his share of the punishments.
Timeline of Deflategate
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