Robert Kraft defends Roger Goodell: "The way he has handled this situation is excellent"

It is apparent that since the death of his wife, Kraft has lost his moral compass. Somehow, I don't think that if she was alive, he would be applauding the actions of a man who considers wife beating to be less important than smoking marijuana. It's time for Kraft to devote all his time chasing bimbos and give the control of the team over to his son who is actually interested in the Pats and not just the league.

Fencer said:

Good points. Kraft did go beyond the sort of thing that BB does.

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What did BB even say about Hernandez? I don't recall anything.

crew1954 said:

What did BB even say about Hernandez? I don't recall anything.

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http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap10...l-belichick-disappointed-with-aaron-hernandez

The headline is basically:

"It's a sad day, it's a really a sad day on so many levels," Belichick said, reading from a thoughtful statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim, and I extend my sympathy, really, to everyone that's been impacted. A young man lost his life. And his family's suffered a tragic loss, and there's no way to understate that.

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but he says a lot more that I can't really quote here since it would basically just be quoting the full text of the article.

...and they say that Belicheck does not have a good way with words on issues...

I seen the video of Kraft defending Goodell & it made me sick.
I am real proud of the response from the people in this forum on this thread !
We all love the Pat's, but right is right and wrong is wrong.

Maybe Mr Kraft should get a haircut "The 70's are over" so he hear what Goodell is really saying.

fxkane said:

No doubt about that. What Kraft said must make BB cringe.

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I doubt BB gives the slightest care about an off-field issue

Fencer said:

Oh, I hadn't made the casino-shutdown connection. Was this even really in one of the casinos that just shut down? That could explain a lot.

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It was a brand spanking new, gorgeous Atlantic City facility that barely survived 2 years. It's a shame what has happened to that city.

AC needs Nucky Thompson to take over the entire operation.

It was just a matter of time before someone would use Krafts comments to make him look like an imbecile. Not even 8 hours and this article was up.

http://deadspin.com/the-trouble-with-floyd-mayweather-1605217498/1632578678/+kylenw

condon84 said:

It was just a matter of time before someone would use Krafts comments to make him look like an imbecile. Not even 8 hours and this article was up.

http://deadspin.com/the-trouble-with-floyd-mayweather-1605217498/1632578678/ kylenw

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Oh I see...quilt by association. Didn't someone in the 50's use that tactic. But we live in the 21 century. No one not even Felger Neumier et al would even think of something like this

It's an interesting standard that the Commissioner is applying here. When it comes to responsibility for what you know and protecting the shield it is no holds barred when it comes to the players, teams and owners, it doesn't matter who did what or who knew what, they were supposed to know, supposed to do due diligence, and supposed to get it right and do the right thing, and he imposed stiff fines and sanctions on Saints players, coaches, and the franchise, and did the same with the Patriots in Cameragate when they failed to meet those standards. Now however it is all about what the Commissioner actually did know and did see, and the fact that he was completely negligent in doing due diligence and getting to the bottom of what really happened before applying the sanctions for it doesn't matter in the least. With everyone other than the Commissioner there is a responsibility to uphold the shield and be on top of everything, for the commissioner there has to be proof beyond any doubt. He knew there was a tape, he essentially knew what was on it, and he deliberately avoided finishing the investigation and gave the lightest sanction possible to Rice when he deserved to get the stiffest sanction. But it's not his fault because he put his hands over his eyes and didn't actually see the tape, or at least that's what he says.

They won't dump him, but they should.

Ivan said:

It's an interesting standard that the Commissioner is applying here. When it comes to responsibility for what you know and protecting the shield it is no holds barred when it comes to the players, teams and owners, it doesn't matter who did what or who knew what, they were supposed to know, supposed to do due diligence, and supposed to get it right and do the right thing, and he imposed stiff fines and sanctions on Saints players, coaches, and the franchise, and did the same with the Patriots in Cameragate when they failed to meet those standards. Now however it is all about what the Commissioner actually did know and did see, and the fact that he was completely negligent in doing due diligence and getting to the bottom of what really happened before applying the sanctions for it doesn't matter in the least. With everyone other than the Commissioner there is a responsibility to uphold the shield and be on top of everything, for the commissioner there has to be proof beyond any doubt. He knew there was a tape, he essentially knew what was on it, and he deliberately avoided finishing the investigation and gave the lightest sanction possible to Rice when he deserved to get the stiffest sanction. But it's not his fault because he put his hands over his eyes and didn't actually see the tape, or at least that's what he says.

They won't dump him, but they should.

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The whole thing is a farce. The NFL and the Ravens essentially looked the other way at Rice's actions and treated the entire situation as a peccadillo, and now that the video evidence that they knew existed (whether they saw it or not) is inevitably out and they got effectively caught with their hand in the cookie jar they realized they are on the wrong end of a public relations debacle and they are doing an about-face. All that matters is that to them is that they do damage control and survive the ****storm that is occurring, so they are throwing Rice under the bus for something that they originally winked at.

Worse than throwing him under the bus, they INCREASED the penalty from the new, revised penalty of 6 games for a 1st offense. They threw him under the Wilfork.

PatsWickedPissah said:

Worse than throwing him under the bus, they INCREASED the penalty from the new, revised penalty of 6 games for a 1st offense. They threw him under the Wilfork.

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Rice's actions and lack of accountability are deplorable, but the bigger issue is a system that allowed him to get away with it. As the Jeffrey Toobin article makes clear, this is part of a bigger systemic issue which undermines a major societal problem; the NFL is a very small, but prominent and visible part of this problem. For the NFL to preach from its pulpit on this issue while enabling the culprit, and then doing a double-take when caught and coming down hard on the perpetrator, is hypocritical in the extreme. And for Robert Kraft to laud the Commissioner for his "excellent" handling of the situation is repulsive.

The Rice situation is only getting attention because it is on videotape. Terrell Suggs got away unpunished. Greg Hardy and Ray McDonald have yet to be held accountable. Jovan Belcher is conveniently buried and forgotten.

Is anyone else tired of this mess and who did what, when? I appreciate all the vitriol about Rice but the rest of the merde is overwhelming.

This is so reminiscent of spygate, bountygate, etc. with the media gorging themselves on any and all table scraps. Sometimes I wonder why I stay interested in organized sports between all the PC and freakin' fantasy BS. I might take up the schedule of the local HS games to go back to enjoying some football without the rest of the garbage.

mayoclinic said:

The whole thing is a farce. The NFL and the Ravens essentially looked the other way at Rice's actions and treated the entire situation as a peccadillo, and now that the video evidence that they knew existed (whether they saw it or not) is inevitably out and they got effectively caught with their hand in the cookie jar they realized they are on the wrong end of a public relations debacle and they are doing an about-face. All that matters is that to them is that they do damage control and survive the ****storm that is occurring, so they are throwing Rice under the bus for something that they originally winked at.

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What makes it even worse is that the NFL wasn't even going to consider it a first offense under their new policy and were planning on giving Rice a clean slate starting thursday after the game. Now he's basically done for good when a few days ago he was about to get a fresh start. Pretty ironic when the sacrificial lamb actually deserves what they are getting.

Sometimes I wonder why I stay interested in organized sports between all the PC and freakin' fantasy BS.

unfortunately, you are insane...you turn on the tube expecting a different result from the same set of variables. You expect honesty, truth in advertising, fair play and standing up for what is right. THAT is crazy in today's world...I know because I'm insane in exactly the same fashion.

Ivan said:

What makes it even worse is that the NFL wasn't even going to consider it a first offense under their new policy and were planning on giving Rice a clean slate starting thursday after the game. Now he's basically done for good when a few days ago he was about to get a fresh start. Pretty ironic when the sacrificial lamb actually deserves what they are getting.

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What Rice deserved was to be prosecuted for his act, for which there was clear video evidence, sentenced appropriately, punished appropriately by the NFL, and come clean about what occurred.

Let's assume that Ray Rice is not a monster with a long history of abusive behavior, but that this was a one-time event (we don't know, but let's give him the benefit of the doubt). He could have accepted responsibility for his actions, made it clear what circumstances were involved that helped facilitate (but not excuse) such actions, accepted his punishment, and become the NFL poster-boy for a domestic violence policy and campaign. He could have worked to rehabilitate his image and to raise national awareness on this issue. He would have been suspended for a considerable period of time and might have served some jail time, though that might have been managed (consider Alfonzo Dennard's sentence for punching a cop). And at the end of it he would have gone on with his career. Everyone would have condemned the sin, but not the sinner, assuming his contrition was genuine and his subsequent behavior pristine.

Instead the authorities, his team and the league worked with him to try and sweep it under the rug despite clear evidence that was bound to come out, and now they are all caught in the middle of a media feeding frenzy and public relations debacle that is 1000 times bigger than the original incident. And they have only themselves to blame for their own ineptness, greed and stupidity.

It's both pathetic and beautiful.

mayoclinic said:

Rice's actions and lack of accountability are deplorable, but the bigger issue is a system that allowed him to get away with it. As the Jeffrey Toobin article makes clear, this is part of a bigger systemic issue which undermines a major societal problem; the NFL is a very small, but prominent and visible part of this problem. For the NFL to preach from its pulpit on this issue while enabling the culprit, and then doing a double-take when caught and coming down hard on the perpetrator, is hypocritical in the extreme. And for Robert Kraft to laud the Commissioner for his "excellent" handling of the situation is repulsive.

The Rice situation is only getting attention because it is on videotape. Terrell Suggs got away unpunished. Greg Hardy and Ray McDonald have yet to be held accountable. Jovan Belcher is conveniently buried and forgotten.

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This why I think that even though Rice's actions were absolutely despicable and the ensuing actions by the league as great a clusterf.ck as we have witnessed in a long while it will ultimately be one of the best things that could happen for the scourge of domestic violence as every athlete out there has to be well aware of how this has gone down and the price they are going to pay for losing their sh.t and knocking women around. That obviously doesn't mean it will come to an end but I have to believe that the prospect of losing careers and the money that goes with them will stop many a d.ckhead who wants to lash out dead in their tracks. they can even reduce it to a simple three panel informational exhibit at the next rookie symposium. A great big picture of Rice signing his huge deal with the amount front and center, a middle panel of Rice decking Janay, and a final panel of Ray in a paper hat saying "would you like sme fires with that?"

PatsGuy said:

Oh I see...quilt by association. Didn't someone in the 50's use that tactic. But we live in the 21 century. No one not even Felger Neumier et al would even think of something like this

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I don't think anyone is calling Kraft a woman-abuser, but his hard line stance in his comments do fly in the face of him being all chummy with a guy known for doing far worse than Ray Rice is known for.

Kraft should've just kept his yap shut for the time being.