Kraft does not deserve your anger.

Interception said:

What has Kraft does for this organization?
Bill Belichick would not be here without Kraft. Considering that fact, Brady would most likely not be here without Kraft either. Without those two, we would not have four Super Bowl championships. Without Kraft, this organization would still be where it was prior to Kraft -- a laughing stock.

How much do you really know about what happened? Imagine this scenario --
Goodell and Kraft had a talk. Kraft had a talk with his lawyers. It was made clear to him that suing the league would not result in any positive outcome for the patriots, much like it never has for any team vs NFL lawsuit in the past. For a team to sue the league and win is unheard of. It is just not possible, considering Kraft is the one who helped make the rules of the CBA. In this case, Kraft had two options:
1. Fight a meaningless fight in which both the organization and the league that he his a part of loses.
2. Surrender, have the same outcome, save the organization from being spited even more by the League.

Imagine if you were the owner. Now imagine you were fighting a war you couldn't win. It doesn't matter if we think you could win, it doesn't matter if the media thinks you could have one. The professionals (lawyers, inner circle) you are paying millions of dollars to you tell you that you cannot win. What do you do?
a) fight against the league despite not being able to win, lose money and tarnish the reputation of the league you are a part of.
b) reluctantly accept the penalties and work to ensure that these standards are changed in the future, thus saving your relationships with your partners and not tarnishing the league further.

As a billionaire running a business, choice B is the logical answer. Choice A is fueled by anger and destruction.
So imagine you went with the logical choice... And then heard this anger and hate towards you from fans who aren't even informed of the entire situation. Pretty hurtful right?

Would Kraft have backed down if he had been told he had a great chance of winning this?
Kraft is a patriots fan who has attended a game every season since the team was formed. He was such a huge fan, in fact, that he bought the team and invested in it to make it was it is. No matter what you've spent on the Patriots, Kraft spent more to make them what they are today.

You have no idea what went on behind closed doors. Sure, he could've fought for his "fans." But maybe this is what was the best of all the crappy options available. Maybe this was the way to do the least damage to the sport.

Let's be honest. We're all NFL fans. Without the NFL, the patriots would be nothing. This is indeed bigger than the patriots. You can't say you hate the NFL but then watch NFL games and love an NFL franchise so much.
Being a Patriots fan makes you a fan of the NFL because the patriots are the NFL.

Kraft has history with the NFL. He has relationships. He has a responsibility to the Patriots and a love for the Patriots, which is why he was initially so angry.
He calmed down, saw his options, and made the choice.

This is the owner who made the Patriots what they are. If he says this is what was best for the Patriots AND the NFL, and asks for trust, then I'll trust him. After all, he's been a Patriots fan longer than me and has way more invested in the team than me.



EDIT:
Please keep personal insults out of your disagreements with me!
I do not mind having a respectful debate. I have lurked for years and know most of you somewhat well, I would like to keep the respect I have for you guys.

Also, please don't reply unless you have a point to make. For example, simply replying "wall of text" does not add to the discussion but just fills the thread and forum with meaningless spam just because of a disagreeing opinion.

Thank you!

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Deus Irae said:

Ok, this guy must be just trolling. There's no other explanation for this thread. The level of cluelessness has to be intentional.

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Interception said:

Much like any word that comes out of your mouth.

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Interception said:

So you're telling me you know every fact about this case that Kraft knows?
If not, how can you judge him over something you don't even

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Interception said:

So you're telling me you know every fact about this case that Kraft knows?
If not, how can you judge him over something you don't even

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Interception said:

I completely agree with that. I would love more information. Then again, there are some things that might be better not to be released.
Happens with any large organization, including our government. Some things are kept secret for the collective good. Maybe Kraft wants to release more but has been advised against doing so.

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Interception said:

a) fight against the league despite not being able to win, lose money and tarnish the reputation of the league you are a part of.

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I have to start by saying I haven't read the contract, so I can't say anything with certainty. But the bits of it that I have seen cited by journalists still read to me as a contract that would be interpreted as requiring an offense before punishment can be rendered. And yes, maybe those portions do read on the surface like the punishment can be arbitrary at that point, but that's not even the problem here if there is no offense/wrongdoing. I've mentioned before, and I'm sure many of you know that contracts have both explicit and implicit terms; if the agreement gives a commissioner unlimited discretion to dole out punishments for offenses, it is an entirely reasonable interpretation of the contract that the implied term is that some wrongdoing must take place before this "unlimited discretion" can be engaged. I fully expect a court would also find some sort of limit on the "unlimited discretion" touted by the media, for example: if a Jets coach trips an opposing player running down the sideline, I don't expect a court would allow a commissioner to force Woody to sell the team as punishment. Freedom of contract is simply not absolute.

I don't know why the media keeps pushing this "Kraft could never win in court angle", even the ones with some legal experience. Lawyers don't agree on everything and courts don't agree on everything, so I believe it is incorrect for them to state there can only be one possible outcome. Heck, not all lawyers (such as those in the media) are necessarily even adept in contract law; we have to remember that some people do graduate law school having received a D in first year contracts (and this doesn't even mean they are necessarily bad lawyers).

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Interception said:

So you're telling me you know every fact about this case that Kraft knows?
If not, how can you judge him over something you don't even

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skinnydog said:

For the love of god your idiocy knows no bounds. And don't tell me about your stupid addendum to your OP, I don't F'n care. Your posts are the nonsensical imagining of some secret reason Kraft has for doing the right thing by the team. He willingly accepted the the mantle of cheaters Goodell placed on the NEP like a meek little puppy. Did you even listen to his presser? Did you hear how nostalgic he got about walking into his first owners meeting after buying the team and being welcomed by those 31 other billionaires??? He placed the interest of his billionaire buddies over that of his fans. Not all battles are won, but if the cause is worth it the battle should be fought. Even if he lost, I believe a lot of the NFL front office malfeasance would have been exposed and likely some information that would have had the pleasant side affect of helping Brady's case. So stop imagining Kraft must know something and deal with facts

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Interception said:

I'm surprised by how much people care what other fans think... Caring so much about someone's opinion about your own team will never lead to satisfaction. Someone will always have something negative to say.

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Patriot Missile said:

Kraft is the laughing stock of owners right now. As soon as he leaves the room to go squat to piss I'm sure the other owners are having a field day at his expense. What a lap dog.

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sambam94 said:

so he's an idiot because you don't agree..weak. deal with facts?..I'm sure Kraft knows a little more about the facts than you.

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