The Patriots aren’t wicked good as defined by New England vernacular.
They are just wicked.
The Patriots, for unknown reasons, are held by many to be the class of the NFL. They are and have been media darlings for decades. Coach Belichick’s curmudgeonly press conferences and interviews are tolerated while Seahawk Marshawn Lynch’s garner fines. Whether or not owner Robert Kraft’s apparent friendship with Roger Goodell earns him favor with the NFL will largely be decided by how the Commissioner responds to the Deflategate scandal.
Kraft held a press conference to passionately decry the unfairness of tarnishing the legacies of the organization, himself, Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady while the Deflategate investigation continues.
He’s wrong.
The image was already tarnished. It was tarnished in 2007 with Spygate. It was further tarnished that same year when he chivalrously donated $5 million to the athletic department of Columbia University who later named a field the Robert K. Kraft Field. You can’t buy good public relations. Nobody has forgotten.
Columbia University Physics is now determining the effects of climate on the PSI of footballs. Yes, the alma mater of Robert Kraft will determine the validity of the Patriots claim that somehow the weather affected their footballs, but not those of the Colts.
Kraft doesn’t seem to comprehend that you cannot undo the damage to your reputation by continually putting yourself in a position that compromises your integrity, and that of the NFL fueled investigation.
Julian Edelman was charged with indecent assault and battery in 2011. Those charges were later dropped as prosecutors were likely unable to meet the burden of proof from an incident that happened, coincidentally, in Boston.
We’ve seen the photos of Rob Gronkowski with porn stars, shirtless at the Playboy mansion and partying the night of the Patriots last Super Bowl.
The hiring of LeGarrette Blount after his release from the Pittsburgh Steelers following his marijuana possession arrest is just the latest. These three men are starters. They are stars. It’s kind of ironic that Aaron Hernandez’s trial starts the same week Super Bowl XLIX is being played, but these men are all part of the Patriots legacy.
Spygate proved the coaching staff is corrupt.
The roster indicates there are some serious character issues wearing uniforms.
It doesn’t end there.
Mrs. Brady, aka supermodel Gisele Bundchen, attacked her husband’s teammates with, “My husband cannot (effing) throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can’t believe they dropped the ball so many times,” following the Patriots loss to the NY Giants in Super Bowl XLVI.
Not to be out done, Mrs. Wes Welker, then of the NE Patriots, attacked Ray Lewis’ character in a Facebook rant following the AFC Championship game one year later, during the Ravens march to the Lombardi Trophy.
Obviously these ladies have a right to their own opinions, but pettiness and attacks against your husband’s co-workers or others in their field have an impact on their husbands’ employers when issued in the context of the game.
Robert Kraft shouldn’t be concerned with the legacy of the Patriots because for anyone outside the New England fan base, that’s already been determined.
Will the investigation’s finding reinforce an already tainted legacy or will most people dismiss a favorable Pats report as biased only to use it as leverage in a battle of social media comments?
Despite Kraft’s protestations, Deflategate didn’t tarnish the Patriots legacy, it upheld it.
The Patriots are not wicked good as their fan base will argue. They are wicked in the purest, Webster’s definition of the word.
