The 3 faces of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft
Just weeks after his organization won its sixth Super Bowl championship, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is involved in an embarrassing scandal.
Scandal is nothing new for the New England Patriots. One of the winningest and most successful sports franchises over the last two decades have been involved in over sensationalized drama that has become part of the definition of their dynasty.
Fair or unfair, both “Spygate” and “Deflategate” involved two of the team’s main faces, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Through both those scandals, Patriots owner Robert Kraft stood by his head coach and quarterback while accepting punishment from the NFL.
Now, it’s Mr. Kraft who is involved in a scandal. This time, it does not involve gaining a competitive edge on a football field (which time has proved didn’t really matter), it involves Kraft’s alleged personal choices. It involves an issue that is bigger than sports or Robert Kraft himself. We will not focus on that here.
On Friday, New England Patriots fans as well as sports fans in general were shocked when a report surfaced that Robert Kraft was charged with two separate counts of soliciting prostitution as part of a six-month investigation involving human traffickers who lured women to work in local spas in the Jupiter, Florida area.
Please note, Kraft is being charged with “secondary misdemeanors” that could lead to fines or up to 60 days in jail. As of now, he has not been linked in the actual human trafficking investigation.
As a spokesman for Robert Kraft has “categorically” denied any illegal activity, all Patriots fans and NFL fans in general can do is wait to see how it all plays out.
Statement from the New England Patriots on Boston Globe reporter Nick Cafardo: pic.twitter.com/e3wgmC83TB
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) February 22, 2019
There are penalties Kraft could face from the league, but those should be more on a personal level that should not affect the team as in them losing draft picks.
Why is this big?
It’s big because of the public figure Robert Kraft has become since purchasing the New England Patriots. Because of the man he has become known to be, this scandal (guilty or innocent) strikes embarrassment on his image. But, should not take away what he has done for the fans in New England and how he has impacted the NFL as a business man and socially.