Dear Robert Kraft

[flasox27]

You and I have been in accordance on most issues lately, but I have to call BS on your last sentence - cheap shot, in my opinion.

I was responding to Triumph's portrayal of Kraft as a paradigm of virtue. My statement was factual about him conducting business while his wife was dying since he was applauded by the League for doing that. i don't consider that to be especially virtuous. As for the other statement concerning his companion, you can judge for yourself if it is a positive reflection on his reputation.

 

[Jackson 2]

I was responding to Triumph's portrayal of Kraft as a paradigm of virtue. My statement was factual about him conducting business while his wife was dying since he was applauded by the League for doing that. i don't consider that to be especially virtuous. As for the other statement concerning his companion, you can judge for yourself if it is a positive reflection on his reputation.

I've questioned Kraft's approach and response to plenty of occurrences. But, the overwhelming evidence as I see it suggests that he was devoted to his wife. Of course, no one ever knows for sure, but that appears true to me. As for his companion, that relationship by all accounts I've heard became established well after his wife's psssing. As a guy who is younger than Kraft, but no spring chicken, my reaction to his relationship with that beautiful, young woman is very simple: lucky bastard!

 

[Triumph]

I have been following the Pats since when Butch Songin was the QB so I have a very good idea how much one player and one coach mean to the success of a team. Let me remind you how great Kraft's Pats team was in the Bobby Grier regime. I have every reason to believe that level of mediocrity will be achieved when the people who are most responsible for the team's record are no longer there . If Kraft thinks that he not BB and Brady are nnot responsible for the team's winning asa he indicates through his actions, good luck in the future which may be sooner than he anticipated.

The 49ers didn't crawl into a fetal position when Montana and Walsh bid adieu.

Young and Siefert went on to win a SB themselves. In fact, SF should have won SB47 if the deck wasn't stacked against them.

 

[Triumph]

I was responding to Triumph's portrayal of Kraft as a paradigm of virtue. My statement was factual about him conducting business while his wife was dying since he was applauded by the League for doing that. i don't consider that to be especially virtuous. As for the other statement concerning his companion, you can judge for yourself if it is a positive reflection on his reputation.

If Kraft isn't running a top shelf NFL franchise then what is he doing?

For all you know, Mrs Kraft wanted her husband to take care of business matters since he had done everything in his power for his dying wife.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

The evidence is flimsy in regard to deflategtate, but something funny happened to the Pats balls. I just wish none of this had ever happened.

What was the something funny with the Pats balls? Accepting the #s as gospel, all the balls fell within the error bars of Ideal Gas Law dictates.

 

[rainmaker]

If Brady is suspended, Kraft should grow a pair and ban Goodell from Gillette stadium for opening night next season.

 

[Gronkowski123]

kraft's a spineless jellyfish

he talks a big game, then backs down into a corner. i hope tommy doesn't follow roberts lead.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Mr. Kraft:

You and I graduated from the same Business School on the banks of the Charles with the same Degree, so I feel that I might have a sense of how you are thinking at this time. That means that we both understand that there comes a time in the career of any CEO when s/he recognizes that they either do or do not have the same fire not only to manage but, more importantly, to lead a business as they did on the day that took its helm (I'm sure you're familiar with that distinction, as Prof. Zaleznik was probably teaching his classes in Aldrich Hall when you were there). I think that time has arrived for you.

I'm willing to accept that, for the moment, your wisest course of action for the benefit of Tom Brady and the Franchise that you, in effect, rent (with the potential of a huge financial gain on its disposal) from the fans is to be relatively silent in public and work behind the scenes to avoid a suspension for Brady. "For the moment."

If you are, however, unwilling to go to the mat for Brady if he is suspended, defined not only as blustering in public but as financially supporting his appeal and any law suits he might file against the NFL and/or other engaged parties and going right up to, but not necessarily crossing, the line of threatening to forfeit any games for which he is suspended, then I think it might be time for you to sell the Franchise and hand it over to someone who is prepared to lead it and not just manage it.

Respectfully,

(Name, HBS Class and Section available to you if you wish to contact me)

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Just remember that Kraft can't pay for any of Brady's expenses or anything like that, as it would count against the cap.

 

[flasox27]

Triumph and Jackson
I guess we have different value systems and opinions as to what is important in life and what reflects poorly on one's reputation. We will leave it at that and the people can make up their own minds.

 

[flasox27]

The 49ers didn't crawl into a fetal position when Montana and Walsh bid adieu.

Young and Siefert went on to win a SB themselves. In fact, SF should have won SB47 if the deck wasn't stacked against them.

Siefert won it with Walsh's players and Tampa Bay gifted them with Steve Young. So you are comparing Garapalo to a HOF quarterback and whoever is going to win it with BB's players. With you citing the exception, let me cite the rule, unless you do a suck for Luck season, you go down to a period of mediocrity for about a decade or longer. Even HOF coaches like Parcells or Jimmy Johnson couldn't resurrect bad teams.

 

[BradyFixesEverything]

No, he already responded to the leagues move by telling them he will accept any penalty they give.
That is not a strategy, that is cowardice.

The only thing that gives me hope is that his statement "we will accept the findings of the report and take the appropriate actions based on those findings as well as any discipline levied by the league" could be interpreted as that he will accept any TEAM punishment (i.e., fines, draft picks). However, it doesn't necessarily mean that he will accept any punishment for Brady. I'm choosing to believe this, but I admit I would like a statement in support of TB12.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

The only thing that gives me hope is that his statement "we will accept the findings of the report and take the appropriate actions based on those findings as well as any discipline levied by the league" could be interpreted as that he will accept any TEAM punishment (i.e., fines, draft picks). However, it doesn't necessarily mean that he will accept any punishment for Brady. I'm choosing to believe this, but I admit I would like a statement in support of TB12.

Do we speak the same language?
"ANY discipline levied by the league"
What does ANY mean to you?

Re-reading those sackless & thoughtless words by Kraft pisses me off.
"we will accept the findings of the report"

In plain English Kraft within just hours concedes as fact all the utter BS in the Wells report. Once again he needed to defer comment until someone with some modicum of sense in his cadre had time to read and digest the actual report and realize how unsubstantiated by fact & logic it was.
He has lost it.
Time for Jonathan.

 

[IllegalContact]

As I stated before Kraft can personally raise hell with Goodell, and try to get any suspension killed or reduced.
However, he cannot sue the NFL. It's in his franchise agreement that he signed when he bought the team. He must abide by any final penalty that the NFL comes down with on the TEAM. If he went to court it would be thrown out before any trial or even pre-trial hearing. That is what he meant when he said fighting it would be futile.

TFB has a whole different situation as he is a member of the NFLPA. So the NFLPA can, and will, fight any punishment to Brady, not the TEAM. Brady can also fight it with his own team of lawyers.

yeah.....it is far too presumptuous to say brady is some kind of sacrificial lamb

he has the capacity to drag the front office of the NFL down during any appeal process.

 

[flasox27]

As the philosopher Santayana said those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. This happened in 1938 at Munich and in a parallel circumstance in 2007 regarding the Camera placement incident. When Fuhrer Goodell huffed and puffed, Neville Chamberlain Kraft appeased him by serving up BB in the name of preserving the peace with the empty assurance that he would uphold his end of the bargain. Even worse is that Kraft continued to support the Fuhrer to the detriment of his team in the intervening period. We now see the results of that support. The British finally said enough and got a real leader in Churchill because Chamberlain was compromised. Sorry to say, the Pats need to find a Churchill not a doddering Chamberlain at this time.

 

[IllegalContact]

As the philosopher Santayana said those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. This happened in 1938 at Munich and in a parallel circumstance in 2007 regarding the Camera placement incident. When Fuhrer Goodell huffed and puffed, Neville Chamberlain Kraft appeased him by serving up BB in the name of preserving the peace with the empty assurance that he would uphold his end of the bargain. Even worse is that Kraft continued to support the Fuhrer to the detriment of his team in the intervening period. We now see the results of that support. The British finally said enough and got a real leader in Churchill because Chamberlain was compromised. Sorry to say, the Pats need to find a Churchill not a doddering Chamberlain at this time.

this would make sense if chamberlain was the one who hired hitler.....but he wasn't

 

[SHOWTIME15]

i honestly can't believe we are talking about chamberlein and hitler.

 

[flasox27]

this would make sense if chamberlain was the one who hired hitler.....but he wasn't

No he just appeased him.

 

[BradyFixesEverything]

Do we speak the same language?
"ANY discipline levied by the league"
What does ANY mean to you?

Re-reading those sackless & thoughtless words by Kraft pisses me off.
"we will accept the findings of the report"

In plain English Kraft within just hours concedes as fact all the utter BS in the Wells report. Once again he needed to defer comment until someone with some modicum of sense in his cadre had time to read and digest the actual report and realize how unsubstantiated by fact & logic it was.
He has lost it.
Time for Jonathan.

I'm just clinging to some hope. Even if it's a 1 in a million chance, I'll take it and give some benefit of the doubt to Mr. Kraft. I just want to believe...sue me! lol. We'll see what Mr. Kraft does after the punishment is decided and TB12 responds.

 

[flasox27]

i honestly can't believe we are talking about chamberlein and hitler.

I think the title Fuhrer fits Goodell perfectly. If Kraft had faced the Fuhrer down in 2007 instead of capitulating like Chamberlain did, we wouldn't in my opinion be in this position now. Even the non influential owner of the Ravens persuaded Goodell by lying about the tape a penalty of two games in the Rice incident was sufficient for beating his wife. That is what you can do if you stand up to a bully rather than caving.