New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been one of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s biggest supporters, but that has changed very quickly with the Deflategate scandal. In addition to Tom Brady’s suspension, the franchise was dealt the biggest fine in NFL history, despite being exonerated in the Ted Wells report. Kraft is standing behind the face of his franchise and is still angry about the NFL’s response.
Kraft did a phone interview with Sports Illustrated’s Peter King over the weekend and was, in King’s words, “defiant and angry.” When asked if Brady told him he was innocent, Kraft said he did and he believes him.
“I’ve known Tommy 16 years, almost half his life. He’s a man, and he’s always been honest with me, and I trust him,” Kraft said. “I believed what he told me. He has never lied to me, and I have found no hard or conclusive evidence to the contrary.”
Kraft believes that the NFL doesn’t have a “smoking gun” that would link Brady directly to the deflated balls used at the AFC Championship game, although Wells wrote that Brady was “at least generally aware” of wrongdoing. Kraft called the situation “disturbing.”
“I just get really worked up. To receive the harshest penalty in league history is just not fair,” Kraft told King. “The anger and frustration with this process, to me, it wasn’t fair. If we’re giving all the power to the NFL and the office of the commissioner, this is something that can happen to all 32 teams. We need to have fair and balanced investigating and reporting.”
Brady has appealed his four-game suspension. The Patriots were fined $1 million and lost the first round draft pick in 2016 and the fourth round pick in 2017, even though Welles wrote that Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick were not involved in deflating footballs.
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image of Tom Brady courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com
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