By Reese Williams
On Feb. 22, Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution. Kraft pleaded not guilty and has a court date scheduled for March 27.
According to surveillance video from the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida, Kraft was spotted getting sexual favors there twice in January. One of these visits allegedly took place on the morning of the 2019 AFC Championship game.
Kraft’s visit on Jan. 20 was his second visit in two days. On both days he was greeted by two women, who engaged in sexual acts with Kraft. After both incidents, he gave the women an unspecified amount of cash for their services.
If Kraft is charged with both misdemeanors, he is looking at facing two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. He also may face a suspension from the league, barring him from all team-related engagements. The NFL will continue to monitor the situation until a verdict is reached and will hand out their own punishment accordingly.
Kraft was one of 25 men who were charged in this solicitation case. However, he is the only one that has been accused of making multiple visits. Other individuals that have been charged in the case include John Childs, who is the co-founder of JW Childs Associates private-equity firm.
This does nothing good for himself, the Patriots, or the NFL. If found guilty and the NFL kicks him out as an owner it could really hurt the Patriots. If it wasn’t for Kraft, the Patriots would not have hired Belichick.
Even if it is true, he does so much good that it shouldn’t matter. I understand if you back him because of what he has done for New England. He has given you one of the best teams in the history of the NFL, but you have to understand that no matter if he is guilty or not this is putting bad publicity on the Patriot’s leadership.
This whole situation is messed up. It doesn’t matter how old you are, or how much good you’ve done, it’s just messed up to think of someone paying these girls.
If they kick him out they don’t have to worry about fining or suspending him and can move on. It’s not like he needs to be an owner anymore. Kraft is now 77 years old, which is among the top five oldest owners in the NFL. Kraft has all the championships he needs and America does not want to see the Patriots win another Super Bowl.
The thing is though that he has been one of the best owners the NFL has ever seen. It’s not easy to get a team to win six championships in the time that they did let alone over the course over a whole franchise’s tenure. There is a ton of respect around the league for what he has done and he may lose that if all of this is true.
It will be interesting to see how this whole thing unfolds, but one thing for sure is that if he is found guilty on one or both charges, I will officially have lost all respect that I’ve had for Robert Kraft and what he’s done in his life.
Reese Williams can be reached at reese.williams@spartans.ut.edu