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Kraft comments
MANSFIELD -- Patriots chairman/CEO Robert Kraft commented today on allegations that his club was illegally spying on the Jets sideline to decipher their signals.
"There is an investigation going on now, and perhaps an adjudication of it, and I think it would be inappropriate at this time to make any comment," Kraft said, speaking after a charity appearance at Shaw's Supermarket in Mansfield, where the Patriots kicked off a joint fundraising campaign to support local Kids Cafe programs and food banks throughout New England.
A question was asked about Kraft having pride in his players, and before the question finished, Kraft delivered this answer:
"I think what happened Sunday, I know a lot of fans are excited about this upcoming season, I know our family and organization is very excited. When you're successful in anything, a lot of people like to try to take you down and do different things. We understand that. We have a lot of people who work very hard. I think you heard some of the players speak about it," Kraft said.
"I can tell you, I get in sometimes at 7, 7:30 and the bulk of the team is there and they're not leaving until after 7, 8 o'clock at night. I'm very proud of them and what they do. We're looking forward to a very exciting season. I hope it continues this Sunday night with our [home] opener."
Kraft was asked if he feels the Patriots are an unfair target because of their success.
"I don't know if we're an unfair target. I think [Shaw's president] Carl [Jablonski] knows, when he leads in the supermarket business, everybody wants to eat his lunch, so they either want to cut his prices or take business away, or do whatever they can do so that they're on top.
"We understand that. We know what it was like when we bought the team, and how we felt about it. We worked very hard to try to put an organization together that we all could be proud of in New England, and we're very proud of the New England Patriots organization and the record that they've established over the last 13 seasons and one game."
Kraft was asked when he expected a verdict, but said those questions had to be directed toward Commissioner Roger Goodell.
He was also asked if he's spoken with coach Bill Belichick over the last 36 hours about the allegations.
"I have a lot of conversations with Coach Belichick, and he's working very hard in putting a game-plan together to hopefully beat the San Diego Chargers. That's what is important to me and I think is important to our fans," he said.
