Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Reflects On Choice To Donate Masks To NYC

The governor of Massachusetts made a deal to get much-needed medical supplies from China to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak, but he needed a way to transport them back to the United States.

That’s when New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft stepped in, offering up the team plane to help governor Charlie Baker bring over one million N95 masks to the Commonwealth.

Baker was at Logan Airport on Thursday in Boston for the plane’s arrival, where he emotionally thanked the Kraft family for their generosity. Kraft praised the governor in return, commending him for his bipartisanship amid the crisis.

“I thought it would be great if we could do something to actually compliment governor (Andrew) Cuomo’s great leadership in (New York), so I wound up speaking to the governor of Massachusetts and said, would he allow us to give 300 thousand of the masks to the people of New York City,” Kraft said, via NBC Boston.

“He immediately … said yes. And I think that’s so cool that a Republican governor wanted to do whatever he could to work with a Democratic governor in Cuomo. This transcends politics and brings everything together.”

Kraft also hoped the gesture would help bring together some rivaled fan bases, or perhaps wanted to be funny in giving New York Giants and New York Jets fans a reason to appreciate the Patriots.

“I personally have a deep affection for all the citizens of New York City, and in a way, I just thought it might be cool if the owner of the New England Patriots is doing whatever he can to help Jets and Giants fans have better health.”

If working together during the crisis transcends politics, then it should definitely go beyond NFL allegiances as well.

More NFL: Bills GM Brandon Beane Thinks Patriots Still Team To Beat In AFC East