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Patriots owner Robert Kraft says DeFlateGate punishment unfair

By CM Towle

January 26, 2015; Chandler, AZ, USA; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft addresses the media during a press conference after their arrival in preparation for Super Bowl XLIX at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 26, 2015; Chandler, AZ, USA; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft addresses the media during a press conference after their arrival in preparation for Super Bowl XLIX at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft thinks the NFL has been unfair in regards to DeFlateGate.

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Aside from scripted statements and hilarious excuses involving DeFlateGate about the Deflator being a big guy who wants to lose weight, there hasn’t been a whole lot significant coming out of the New England Patriots camp about the Wells Report and the subsequent sanctions. However, Patriots owner Robert Kraft is now putting in his two cents, as he talked to MMQB over the weekend. To no one’s surprise, he’s not happy about the Wells Report and even less happy about the sanctions handed down by the league, which are the biggest in its 95 year history.

To start with, Kraft believes quarterback Tom Brady had nothing to do with football deflation. He said he talked to Brady about it and encouraged full disclosure, to “take the hit and move on,” but Brady maintained his denial and Kraft believes that he wouldn’t lie.

"“I trust him. I believed what he told me. He has never lied to me, and I have found no hard or conclusive evidence to the contrary,” Kraft said."

Kraft spoke with MMQB by phone and is described as sounding both angry and defiant as he discussed the Wells Report and the Patriots’ sanctions. He is certain that the NFL does not have “smoking gun” type evidence to prove conclusively that the Patriots conspired to deflate a bag of footballs during the playoffs last season. He believes that the Wells Report distorted facts to fit their agenda and that they really only have “ambiguous circumstantial evidence” against the Patriots and Brady.

Kraft further believes that they are being punished for an “aroma” as he calls it, surrounding the entire thing. He might even be alluding to how the NFL tried to come down hard belatedly on Ray Rice because of public perception. Basically saying that because most of the public, aside from Patriots fans, had already convinced themselves that the Patriots were cheaters, the NFL had to go after them to maintain its image.

You can read a few things into what Kraft didn’t say or refused to comment on, like why the “deflators” named in the report were suspended if they didn’t do anything, or addressing all the texts about deflation and Brady talking to the equipment guys on a regular basis after not talking to them for six months. Even if he feels the Wells Report wasn’t fair in the science they chose to use as evidence, there’s a lot of other questions that are hard to explain away.

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