Robert Kraft is the greatest owner in sports. Since he bought the Patriots 25 years ago they’ve had much more success than hardships. But the latest for Kraft hurts the image of himself, not so much the team. Spygate and Deflategate were football things that Kraft wasn’t at fault for. But this will hurt his image a great deal, especially learning he went to the spa on the day of the AFC Championship Game. Kraft allegedly went there on Saturday, January 19th and was pulled over for a traffic stop. He thinks nothing of it and goes back the next day.
The AFC Championship Game was probably one of the greatest postseason wins in Patriots history. Unfortunately, people will remember what happened hours before the game. It’s worse that Kraft went back there on the day of the AFC Championship game when the team was in Kansas City. He’s worth $6.5 billion, he could’ve thought it out more clearly. The best thing to do now is own up to it take what’s coming and move on. He won’t lose the team, but he will probably be looking at a suspension, similar to Jim Irsay of the Colts in the past.
After learning more about what happened Monday it’s hard for Kraft to still deny it. They have him on video and you can’t hide what’s on the video. The video changes everything, just like with other cases we’ve seen around the NFL. This is way different from other videos from NFL players abusing women, but it still hurts Kraft’s image.
Players will stick by Kraft during the case and beyond. They will ignore the noise that comes with it and not change their opinions they have on the owner. Kraft has built an empire in Foxborough, and it has come with negative things but the good outweighs the bad. If the Patriots had lost the AFC Championship game or the Super Bowl this could look worse. Kraft could miss the home opener, which will cause a debate as to whether or not they wait to unveil the Super Bowl Banner when he comes back from suspension.