The two-year anniversary of the start of Deflategate came and went this week, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft still is ticked off about the whole ordeal.
Kraft talked about Deflategate, and the NFL’s role in the mess, in an interview with The New York Times.
“Sometimes, the league really messes up, and I think they really messed this up badly,” Kraft said in the story published Thursday. “But we’ve all agreed to subjugate our right to disrupt everything. I mean, we can, but we’re a partnership. There’s jealousy, there’s envy, there’s stupidity. Sometimes, life is unfair, and you have to suck it up and move on and not use it as an excuse.”
The Patriots were fined $1 million and docked a 2016 first-round draft pick and a 2017 fourth-round selection. Quarterback Tom Brady was suspended four games to open the 2016 season. The Patriots went 3-1 in those four games and are 14-2 overall this season.
Kraft also spoke to The Times about his relationship with President-elect Donald Trump. Kraft was spotted at Trump Tower in November.
“Loyalty is important to me, and he has been a wonderful friend,” Kraft said. “I think one of the great problems in the country today is the working poor, the middle class, that there hasn’t been growth in income on an equal basis, and I really think the policies he’s going to bring to bear are going to be great for the economic side of America.”
Kraft has donated to both Democrat and Republican candidates in the past. Both Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady were questioned about Trump following the election after the President-elect said the two men supported him.
Thumbnail photo via Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports Images
