New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced Tuesday that the team will not appeal the punishment handed down by Troy Vincent in which they were fined $1 million and will lose their 2016 first-round draft pick and their 2017 fourth-round draft pick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBF07pc4Hdg
According to ESPN, the NFL and the Kraft have been involved with back-channel negotiations over the punishment, with the possibility of the Patriots suing the NFL in court, a move that would be unprecedented in league history and a violation of the league’s bylaws.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Kraft were seen meeting and speaking at the league’s spring owner’s meetings. While no one knows specifically what Goodell and Kraft talked about, it should show the strength of the NFL’s case that Kraft has completely surrendered his position just a day later.
Robert Kraft and Roger Goodell have met and did some hugging. But not the kind that takes the air out of your lungs. http://t.co/XpwN5OZK0B
— Cindy Boren (@CindyBoren) May 19, 2015
“I think I made it clear when the report came out that I didn’t think it was fair,” Kraft said at his press conference. “That there was no hard evidence. That everything was circumstantial. And at the same time, I felt when the discipline came out it was way over the top. …I have two options. I can try to end it, or extend it. …Although I might disagree with what is decided, I do have respect for the commissioner and believe that he’s doing what he perceives to be in the best interest of the full 32. So in that spirit I don’t want to continue the rhetoric that’s gone on for the past 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.”
The Patriots, at the NFL’s behest, have already suspended both its locker-room employees in the wake of the report, John “The Needler” Jastremski and Jim “The Deflator” McNally.
While Patriots fans seemed content to question logic, common sense and science itself, the rest of the league, its media and fans had no trouble accepting reality with the full knowledge that DeflateGate was just the tip of a Patriots’ cheating iceberg that flows all the way back to SpyGate.
I don't think folks understand that the only recourse Kraft had was to sue the NFL and his partners. Pats weren't going to win NFL appeal…
— Christopher Gasper (@cgasper) May 19, 2015
Which makes it interesting that Goodell was able to convince a suddenly disheartened and reticent Kraft into dropping any objection to the punishment. What did those two men discuss? If only there was some sort of recording device close by to capture it, but since it was at the owner’s meeting, Bill Belichick wasn’t there.
“Now I know a lot of Patriot fans are going to be disappointed in that decision,” Kraft said. “But I hope they trust my judgment and know that I really feel at this point in time that taking this off the agenda, this is the best thing for the New England Patriots, our fans and the NFL. I hope you all respect that.”
Kraft refused to take questions after the announcement. While the Patriots will accept their punishment, there’s no word yet on if Tom Brady will back off the appeal of his four-game suspension.
Robert Kraft made the smart long term play here… for his business and the NFL. Have to wonder how that might affect Brady appeal. 4 to 2?
— trey wingo (@wingoz) May 19, 2015
It’s hard for me to look at this and not think about the column I wrote last week about Tom Brady’s potential day in court and the revelations that would have come out with Brady, McNally, Jastremski and even Bellichick on the stand.
The threat of a perjury conviction and real prison time is real, even in a civil case, and the thought of finally getting some real answers or a legitimate legal punishment handed down to these people pleases me.
Unlike Brady, the Patriots had no option to appeal except to go to court. There, we would have experienced all the potential pratfalls of Brady’s potential case, with Kraft’s position as an owner at stake. Would all the SpyGate issues resurface, especially the ones that Goodell willingly hid from the public? Was all the evidence really destroyed or would, say, Matt Walsh for instance, suddenly be compelled to testify in court violating the supposed confidentiality agreement that kept him silent back in 2007?
It’s fun to think about.
Maybe Tom Brady is still dumb enough to make it all happen. Fingers crossed.
