BradyManny
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2006
- Messages
- 11,103
- Reaction score
- 1,520
I forgot to bring this up when I heard him on WEEI last week, but Jonathan Kraft - and this isn't the first time - desperately needs to take a lesson from his father and be careful about what he says in the media.
He is way too brash and arrogant in the media and lacks all the eloquence and level-headedness of his father.
Howe hit upon it this week:
Patriots President Jonathan Kraft Disregards Major Details in Placing Blame on Players for Lockout
In a pre-draft bit on WEEI last week, Jonathan took digs at the players and insinuated they didn't want to negotiate and that they were delaying the process by their actions with the lawsuit and decertifying the NFLPA. He sounded incredulous that the players had even done what they had done, and effectively blamed this entire lockout on them.
His tone was shockingly arrogant and his point was derisive - obviously, the players were looking for leverage, and had a right to look for leverage.
When they were at the negotiating table before, the owners had all the leverage. They believed they were getting their "lockout insurance" $$ and they believed they could, in fact, lockout the players.
Both of those things are in question now, thanks to the players actions.
The players actions have been confirmed to be the right course of action by both Doty and Nelson - and they have won themselves leverage accordingly. It remains to be seen if the 8th Circuit will give the players a slam dunk, or reverse Nelson's decision, but until then - Jonathan Kraft has no right to question the players decision to try and win some leverage in order to negotiate under fair pretenses - not the completely unlevel playing field the owners had set-up for them to start this process.
The larger point I want to make is that this isn't the first time I thought Jonathan Kraft was representing his family and the team in a questionable manner in his dealings with the media. Of all the people high up in the organization, he's actually one of the more likely to give someone fodder or a soundbyte that would not seem Belichick-approved.
During this entire players vs. union battle, Robert Kraft has handled everything with class - and been a figure that both sides seem to look forward to coming to the table. In spite of the fact that the message he is delivering is often no different than his son's, he does it in a way that is not divisive, but rather gives hope that the labor battle will be solved. I hope he manages to rein his son in.
He is way too brash and arrogant in the media and lacks all the eloquence and level-headedness of his father.
Howe hit upon it this week:
Patriots President Jonathan Kraft Disregards Major Details in Placing Blame on Players for Lockout
In a pre-draft bit on WEEI last week, Jonathan took digs at the players and insinuated they didn't want to negotiate and that they were delaying the process by their actions with the lawsuit and decertifying the NFLPA. He sounded incredulous that the players had even done what they had done, and effectively blamed this entire lockout on them.
His tone was shockingly arrogant and his point was derisive - obviously, the players were looking for leverage, and had a right to look for leverage.
When they were at the negotiating table before, the owners had all the leverage. They believed they were getting their "lockout insurance" $$ and they believed they could, in fact, lockout the players.
Both of those things are in question now, thanks to the players actions.
The players actions have been confirmed to be the right course of action by both Doty and Nelson - and they have won themselves leverage accordingly. It remains to be seen if the 8th Circuit will give the players a slam dunk, or reverse Nelson's decision, but until then - Jonathan Kraft has no right to question the players decision to try and win some leverage in order to negotiate under fair pretenses - not the completely unlevel playing field the owners had set-up for them to start this process.
The larger point I want to make is that this isn't the first time I thought Jonathan Kraft was representing his family and the team in a questionable manner in his dealings with the media. Of all the people high up in the organization, he's actually one of the more likely to give someone fodder or a soundbyte that would not seem Belichick-approved.
During this entire players vs. union battle, Robert Kraft has handled everything with class - and been a figure that both sides seem to look forward to coming to the table. In spite of the fact that the message he is delivering is often no different than his son's, he does it in a way that is not divisive, but rather gives hope that the labor battle will be solved. I hope he manages to rein his son in.
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