VJCPatriot
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2006
- Messages
- 16,650
- Reaction score
- 5,215
Dear Robert Kraft,
The decision you announced at today's press conference is very disturbing and disappointing on many levels to myself and many Patriots fans. The team that you own, your team, has been castigated in public, its reputation smeared and openly mocked, as a result of the Deflategate controversy. To add Insult to Injury, the NFL and its disciplinary committee, headed by Commissioner Roger Goodell handed down unprecedented and draconian penalties including a 1 million dollar fine, the loss of multiple draft picks, and a 4 game suspension of its franchise quarterback -- Tom Brady.
In the eyes of the general public and the other 31 NFL teams, this acceptance of punishment justifies the allegations that the Patriots as a franchise and its leader, Tom Brady are cheaters. Your decision not to fight the penalties and not make an appeal further cement in the minds of the public that the Patriots are cheaters and that its owner rolled over without a fight because he believes that his team got caught cheating.
Despite the fact that the NFL office leaked numerous inaccurate reports, which hung out the Patriots to dry in the Court of Public opinion, you still decided to stand by and accept the NFL's punishments. One of the most damning leaks came in the form of an official accusation, the direct letter dated January 19th 2015 from NFL senior VP David Gardi, alleging that all of the Patriots footballs were found to be underinflated, including one that was found to be at 10.1 PSI. We now know this to be completely inaccurate and untrue.
Therefore it should be no surprise to you that Patriots fans feel disappointed and angered by your decision to accept the NFL office's punishments in light of the fact that the NFL has repeatedly undermined, questioned, and disparaged the Patriots reputation publicly, through its agents, through the Wells reports, and numerous publicly issued letters painting the Patriots as Cheaters.
You have publicly stated that your willingness to accept these penalties stems from your belief in the partnership you hold with the other 31 NFL teams. And yet when the punishments were handed down and announced by Troy Vincent, in which he denounced the Patriots as cheaters and Tom Brady as guilty of misconduct "detrimental to the integrity of the game," of these other 31 "business partners" how many actually stepped up in support of your franchise and their belief of the integrity of the Patriots? Contrast this with the number of NFL owners who stepped up and supported these heavy penalties in the media spotlight.
Furthermore your continued support of Roger Goodell, including recent publicly reported incidents of you two hugging and apparently 'making up' undermines the confidence of your Patriots fanbase in your loyalty and commitment to the good of the Patriots franchise. This raises a question in the minds of the fans whether your relationship and friendship with Commissioner Goodell, the man who authorized aforesaid punishments and sanctions, is more important to you than the reputation and well-being of your own team which has been publicly denounced and openly labeled as Cheaters thanks in large part to the efforts of Commissioner Goodell and his underlings.
Today will be remembered as the day that Robert Kraft lay down and took the NFL's sanctions without a fight. Unfair or not, and this whole sordid media-inflated affair, is completely unfair, you will be known henceforth by your team's fanbase as a coward who did not have the guts or the desire to stand up for the integrity of his franchise in front of the other 31 owners in the NFL.
Furthermore, your decision to willingly accept the NFL's penalties is directly harmful to the immediate future of your franchise and puts the Patriots at a tangible competitive disadvantage due to the loss of draft picks, one of which is a 1st round selection. You concluded in your speech that you would back down so as to avoid further 'rhetoric', but there is zero 'rhetoric' involved when it comes to the loss of valuable talent that would otherwise be acquired for the benefit of the Patriots through the NFL draft.
Thank you for all you have done for this franchise up until now, Robert Kraft. But from this day onward, you have lost me as a fan and as a supporter. You have lost all credibility as a bastion and supporter of the New England Patriots. On the day we expected you to fight for the reputation and honor of your team, you let us all down. I hope it was worth it.
Sincerely yours,
A severely disappointed, lifelong Patriots Fan.
Cosigned by whoever else agrees with my Open Letter.
The decision you announced at today's press conference is very disturbing and disappointing on many levels to myself and many Patriots fans. The team that you own, your team, has been castigated in public, its reputation smeared and openly mocked, as a result of the Deflategate controversy. To add Insult to Injury, the NFL and its disciplinary committee, headed by Commissioner Roger Goodell handed down unprecedented and draconian penalties including a 1 million dollar fine, the loss of multiple draft picks, and a 4 game suspension of its franchise quarterback -- Tom Brady.
In the eyes of the general public and the other 31 NFL teams, this acceptance of punishment justifies the allegations that the Patriots as a franchise and its leader, Tom Brady are cheaters. Your decision not to fight the penalties and not make an appeal further cement in the minds of the public that the Patriots are cheaters and that its owner rolled over without a fight because he believes that his team got caught cheating.
Despite the fact that the NFL office leaked numerous inaccurate reports, which hung out the Patriots to dry in the Court of Public opinion, you still decided to stand by and accept the NFL's punishments. One of the most damning leaks came in the form of an official accusation, the direct letter dated January 19th 2015 from NFL senior VP David Gardi, alleging that all of the Patriots footballs were found to be underinflated, including one that was found to be at 10.1 PSI. We now know this to be completely inaccurate and untrue.
Therefore it should be no surprise to you that Patriots fans feel disappointed and angered by your decision to accept the NFL office's punishments in light of the fact that the NFL has repeatedly undermined, questioned, and disparaged the Patriots reputation publicly, through its agents, through the Wells reports, and numerous publicly issued letters painting the Patriots as Cheaters.
You have publicly stated that your willingness to accept these penalties stems from your belief in the partnership you hold with the other 31 NFL teams. And yet when the punishments were handed down and announced by Troy Vincent, in which he denounced the Patriots as cheaters and Tom Brady as guilty of misconduct "detrimental to the integrity of the game," of these other 31 "business partners" how many actually stepped up in support of your franchise and their belief of the integrity of the Patriots? Contrast this with the number of NFL owners who stepped up and supported these heavy penalties in the media spotlight.
Furthermore your continued support of Roger Goodell, including recent publicly reported incidents of you two hugging and apparently 'making up' undermines the confidence of your Patriots fanbase in your loyalty and commitment to the good of the Patriots franchise. This raises a question in the minds of the fans whether your relationship and friendship with Commissioner Goodell, the man who authorized aforesaid punishments and sanctions, is more important to you than the reputation and well-being of your own team which has been publicly denounced and openly labeled as Cheaters thanks in large part to the efforts of Commissioner Goodell and his underlings.
Today will be remembered as the day that Robert Kraft lay down and took the NFL's sanctions without a fight. Unfair or not, and this whole sordid media-inflated affair, is completely unfair, you will be known henceforth by your team's fanbase as a coward who did not have the guts or the desire to stand up for the integrity of his franchise in front of the other 31 owners in the NFL.
Furthermore, your decision to willingly accept the NFL's penalties is directly harmful to the immediate future of your franchise and puts the Patriots at a tangible competitive disadvantage due to the loss of draft picks, one of which is a 1st round selection. You concluded in your speech that you would back down so as to avoid further 'rhetoric', but there is zero 'rhetoric' involved when it comes to the loss of valuable talent that would otherwise be acquired for the benefit of the Patriots through the NFL draft.
Thank you for all you have done for this franchise up until now, Robert Kraft. But from this day onward, you have lost me as a fan and as a supporter. You have lost all credibility as a bastion and supporter of the New England Patriots. On the day we expected you to fight for the reputation and honor of your team, you let us all down. I hope it was worth it.
Sincerely yours,
A severely disappointed, lifelong Patriots Fan.
Cosigned by whoever else agrees with my Open Letter.
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