I'm Robert Kraft. Do you know who I am?

[GregHarris]

I wasn't sure where this belongs, either here or the media forum...
 
I saw Robert Kraft's photo on the cover of Boston Magazine while standing in line so I picked it up.  Got back to the office and began reading.  Whoa.
Get a gander at this absolute hackjob of a rip on Kraft.
 
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2015/09/29/robert-kraft/
 
Plenty of poor points to choose from.  Inaccuracies/baseless opinions about Spygate, Deflategate, his parents wanting him to become a rabbi, and if becoming a businessman was the wrong choice, his son David, etc.  I am not sure where to begin. 
 
 

 

[PBDWake]

It starts with the title and lead in. When you sensationalize the quote "I'm Robert Kraft, do you know who I am?", the reason to lead with that is almost always that he was being a self absorbed prick; he was trying to cut to the front of the line, get something free, get out of a police ticket. You don't lead with that when it's a quote about him trying to introduce himself.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

I think that Boston Magazine has it in for Kraft for some reason. They ran an article a few months ago about the NE Revolution and how it was the worst-run organization in the MLS and how players hate coming here. Which may or may not be true, I can understand the reasoning (stadium is too big, the turf sucks, they don't usually spend money on big-time players, the stadium is in the wrong place [for soccer it should be near a major city] and the uniforms blow [my personal opinion]).
 
The Revos article is actually a pretty good one, you can read it for yourself here.

 

[djbayko]

Someone must have a personal vendetta. A Boston magazine attacking one of the most revered figures in all of New England - without any sort of criminal record, history of bigotry, etc. - is just weird.

 

[luckiestman]

I think Kraft is cool as hell, have you seen his girlfriend?
 
-Greg Hardy

 

[Ralphwiggum]

Something is "off" about Bob Kraft?  Eh, OK, I guess.
 
So, according to the author:
 
1.  Kraft's father wanted him to become a rabbi and he's probably the 70-billionth Jewish kid in history to do something else instead.
2.  Kraft is a tough, maybe even ruthless business person who has hurt some feelings along the way to amassing his fortune.  Shocking.
3.  Kraft maybe a bit of an egomaniac.  Again, shocking.
4.  Kraft may or may not be trying to keep one of his sons from inheriting as much as the others.  Who cares?
5.  Kraft (and his family) have been absurdly generous with their fortune, but they either don't want anyone to know about it, or they want everyone to know about it, the author can't decide.
6.  Kraft got mad at the NFL because Deflategate threatened to tarnish his legacy with the Pats and he didn't like that.  Again, shocking.
7.  The author thinks Kraft's current girlfriend is in bad taste or something, and worse, his family defends him! 
 
This sort of tried to be a hack job but didn't really amount to much of anything.  He strings a bunch of stuff together and tries to paint a picture of a guy who is egocentric, needy, off his rocker, whatever.  Maybe all of those things are true, or maybe Kraft is just getting old and like lots of old billionaires he's becoming kind of eccentric in his old age.  Who knows?  I don't think it really changes a lot about what I thought about Kraft as a guy and an owner.
 
Edit:  And the "I'm Bob Kraft do you know who I am", in context I can sort of understand why he introduces himself that way on the phone.  He's cold calling some charity to give them a huge gift.  He could say "I'm Bob Kraft owner of the Patriots" I guess, but it doesn't really come across to me as the typical "Do you know who I am!" thing that some celebrities pull.

 

[ManicCompression]

Is the article really all that bad? It's hard for me, personally, to look at Bob Kraft and not think the same thing about the duality of his persona. On the one hand, he presents himself as this charitable, moral champion of industry. Then he does things like publicly endorse Roger Goodell (many, many times), which is not something a person with a conscience should be able to do.
 
His support of Goodell and the NFL's practices as a whole is, you could argue, quite damaging. Holding communities hostage to get the taxpayers to foot the bill for new stadiums has cost this country billions of dollars. That money dwarfs whatever charitable contributions he makes. Putting on a false public relations show in the wake of the Ray Rice mess instead making meaningful attempts to combat domestic violence either maintained the status quo or it resulted in a net negative for that important issue - millions of Americans were pretty much shown that you should victim shame if you hit your wife. The NFL's attempts to sweep brain injuries under the carpet, or have the military pay to be honored at games - the list of the unethical actions by the league is extensive. At the very least, Bob Kraft is complicit in all of it. If you take the word of media, he's possibly leading owners to these decisions.
 
If your argument is "well, of course he's going to do that, he has a huge investment in the NFL and he's trying to protect it." Okay - so that means his morality has a price. If there's enough money on the table, he'll shove it off to the side. That seems to be a main point of the article - Kraft desperately wants to be seen one way, but he acts differently when not facing the public. 
 
I don't particularly care for the personal stuff. It's not any of my business if he wants to be with a 30 year old. But let's not pretend he's any different from the Jerry Richardson's of the world. He's an NFL owner. You have to make a lot of moral compromises to be one of those guys in this day and age.

 

[Oil Can Dan]

I didn't think it was that bad either.  I liked it, and came away more impressed with Kraft than when I started.  Then again I didn't know all about his background going in to it, either.

 

[RG33]

I love Kraft and what the family has done for the Patriots. With that said, I know some folks who know him very well, and they don't care much for him personally. Egomaniac, ruthless businessman, and long-time philanderer. I don't really care, and I'm not sure why Boston Magazine would be running a smear job like that, but it isn't very surprising to me.

 

[Marciano490]

Im not a billionaire nor am I 74, but I'm sure you could find enough people to say obliquely negative things about me to fill a 3 page article. And, yeah, I've heard bad things about Bobby too, just like every other person on earth.

 

[jmcc5400]

Obliquely?

 

[ManicCompression]

I've heard many of the same things and, quite frankly, Kraft can do whatever he wants in my book short of being Aaron Hernandez or Greg Hardy and I just wouldn't care. Never understood why America requires its public figures to be saints.

 
isn't the issue that Bob Kraft wants to be seen as a saint? I agree - it's absolutely ridiculous to expect a public figure to be held to higher standards than the rest of us. But when a public figure is constantly taking measures to make sure you know he's a saint, they deserve to be the subject of these kinds of articles.
 
I'm glad he owns my team from a football perspective, but I also appreciate watching him get taken down a peg. 

 

[Ralphwiggum]

If wanting to be seen as s saint leads to him donating a whole bunch of dough to deserving charities I am ok with that. Not sure why anyone who claims to be a Pats fan would care, much less enjoy, Kraft getting taken down a peg.

 

[riboflav]

 
isn't the issue that Bob Kraft wants to be seen as a saint? I agree - it's absolutely ridiculous to expect a public figure to be held to higher standards than the rest of us. But when a public figure is constantly taking measures to make sure you know he's a saint, they deserve to be the subject of these kinds of articles.
 
I'm glad he owns my team from a football perspective, but I also appreciate watching him get taken down a peg. 

 
Can a public figure in America be (or come across as) anything but a saint unless that person is a rock star?

 

[Marciano490]

Obliquely?

Some were direct, some were like oh he's aggressive in business or he has people say nice things about him.

 

[crystalline]

"People" = ex-girlfriends...?

Biggest clown in the clown car?

 

[ManicCompression]

If wanting to be seen as s saint leads to him donating a whole bunch of dough to deserving charities I am ok with that. Not sure why anyone who claims to be a Pats fan would care, much less enjoy, Kraft getting taken down a peg.

 
Yes, I would also prefer that he give $100 million to charity rather than not giving $100 million to charity. But it's also not necessarily a "hack job" for a magazine to expose some of the less sterling parts of his persona. If someone is doing significant cultural damage - and I think you can argue that the NFL owners are doing just that by (just one example) taking tax dollars that could be going to schools and using it to build stadiums - they deserve some mud thrown on them. Also, I don't root for Robert Kraft, I root for the laundry. 
 
 

 
Can a public figure in America be (or come across as) anything but a saint unless that person is a rock star?

 
I think he can choose to not be such a public figure. Kraft is one of the most vocal owners in the league because he wants to be. I can't remember one thing Paul Allen has ever said. Paul Allen may be an awful human, but at least he doesn't try to sell the public shit on a popsicle stick whenever the league needs good press. 

 

[riboflav]

 
Yes, I would also prefer that he give $100 million to charity rather than not giving $100 million to charity. But it's also not necessarily a "hack job" for a magazine to expose some of the less sterling parts of his persona. If someone is doing significant cultural damage - and I think you can argue that the NFL owners are doing just that by (just one example) taking tax dollars that could be going to schools and using it to build stadiums - they deserve some mud thrown on them. Also, I don't root for Robert Kraft, I root for the laundry. 
 
 
 
I think he can choose to not be such a public figure. Kraft is one of the most vocal owners in the league because he wants to be. I can't remember one thing Paul Allen has ever said. Paul Allen may be an awful human, but at least he doesn't try to sell the public shit on a popsicle stick whenever the league needs good press. 

 
This is a joke, yes?
 
http://underthinkers.paulallen.com
 
EDIT: I mean c'mon man when does his name and "philanthropist" not get mentioned together? These owners are all the same as are all public figures. You cannot be Mister morally or ethically indifferent or non-saint(ish) and survive in America unless you're a rock star, which clearly Paul Allen understands given his side gig.

 

[ManicCompression]

I meant specifically in regards to the NFL. Kraft is more than happy to lend his credibility to defend the shield and he does it often. I have not seen Paul Allen make that same kind of effort.

And Kraft is undoubtedly a philanthropist - that's an objective term that describes his charitable contributions. However, he tries to mold this narrative about himself via the press that doesn't match up with the evidence. Look at how his role in the labor negotiations was shaped - he was endlessly lauded for leaving his wife's death bed to "save the NFL". What other owners besides Jerry jones would put that story out there?

You can present yourself as a saint without constantly telling people you're a saint. It doesn't really matter because all these owners are six of one and half dozen of the other, but I'd just rather he shut up and count his money rather than have him talk about players buying into the Patriot Way as he counts his money.

Honestly- there was a whole book about the patriots roster construction and how detail oriented they are with player acquisition and how they talk to janitors to get Intel on college players. Then he's going to say with a straight face that they didn't know about the Hernandez night club incident? It's embarrassing and should be mocked in an article.

 

[Devizier]

nm. just another tangent.

 

[Average Reds]

I meant specifically in regards to the NFL. Kraft is more than happy to lend his credibility to defend the shield and he does it often. I have not seen Paul Allen make that same kind of effort.

And Kraft is undoubtedly a philanthropist - that's an objective term that describes his charitable contributions. However, he tries to mold this narrative about himself via the press that doesn't match up with the evidence. Look at how his role in the labor negotiations was shaped - he was endlessly lauded for leaving his wife's death bed to "save the NFL". What other owners besides Jerry jones would put that story out there?

You can present yourself as a saint without constantly telling people you're a saint. It doesn't really matter because all these owners are six of one and half dozen of the other, but I'd just rather he shut up and count his money rather than have him talk about players buying into the Patriot Way as he counts his money.

Honestly- there was a whole book about the patriots roster construction and how detail oriented they are with player acquisition and how they talk to janitors to get Intel on college players. Then he's going to say with a straight face that they didn't know about the Hernandez night club incident? It's embarrassing and should be mocked in an article.

News flash: successful businessman turns out to be a tough-as-nails operator and an insecure egotist who like to shape his image.

I am shocked.

 

[Ralphwiggum]

I meant specifically in regards to the NFL. Kraft is more than happy to lend his credibility to defend the shield and he does it often. I have not seen Paul Allen make that same kind of effort.
And Kraft is undoubtedly a philanthropist - that's an objective term that describes his charitable contributions. However, he tries to mold this narrative about himself via the press that doesn't match up with the evidence. Look at how his role in the labor negotiations was shaped - he was endlessly lauded for leaving his wife's death bed to "save the NFL". What other owners besides Jerry jones would put that story out there?
You can present yourself as a saint without constantly telling people you're a saint. It doesn't really matter because all these owners are six of one and half dozen of the other, but I'd just rather he shut up and count his money rather than have him talk about players buying into the Patriot Way as he counts his money.
Honestly- there was a whole book about the patriots roster construction and how detail oriented they are with player acquisition and how they talk to janitors to get Intel on college players. Then he's going to say with a straight face that they didn't know about the Hernandez night club incident? It's embarrassing and should be mocked in an article.

So what? It just seems like a ridiculous thing to care about.

You say you root for laundry. Well there is a good chance that there is no New England Patriots laundry to root for without Kraft. Oh, he also hired that Belichick guy, built a stadium with his own money, and left the football stuff to the football people which is a big reason why they are in the middle of unprecedented success.

The rest is noise and I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would care. The guy isn't perfect. Shocker.

 

[mauf]

The article is dominated by the Bunyan-sized axe the author has to grind against Robert Kraft. It would have been a more interesting read if the author had dropped his pretense of objectivity and explained why he's got such a hard-on for the guy -- I still might not know who Robert Kraft is, but at least I'd know who Robert Huber is.

 

[ManicCompression]

I don't know where I said I expected Kraft to be perfect. Or that I don't understand that successful businessmen are, by nature, egotists and tough as nails.

The holier than thou act from Kraft is tiring to me. It's not to some others. That's fine. But I don't find the article to be a hack job or even that the author has much of an axe to grind just because it pulls back the curtain a bit.

 

[lostjumper]

Why can't we get good owners like Jerry Jones, Woody Johnson, and Jim Irsay???
The writer is a hack with a huge agenda. Who would you rather have as an owner of your favorite football team? Kraft is one of the best owners in sports because he hires the best, most knowledgeable staff he can, and then he steps aside and let's them do their thing without interfering.

 

[RIFan]

Not sure why the author is getting so much heat. Unless there is anything blatantly false in the article, it's not a hack job. It isn't any journalists job to feed the desired narrative. Kraft is a complex man and this gives a more complete picture. In a lot of ways, some of it is favorable to him since many have felt that he may the ruthfulness to take on the NFL. Jonathan after all learned how to conduct business from someone.

It's obvious that a significant number of Pats fans buy into the Saintly image and can't wrap their heads around the fact that you don't accomplish what he has without breaking a few eggs along the way. I am sure that he had a long term goal to own the Pats and buying the stadium and securing a long term lease was a means to that goal. The whole 'saved' the local team makes it sound like a charitable endeavor from which he didn't expect to benefit. Knowing that he is a shrewd businessman, I wouldn't put it past him that the dalliance with Hartford was a ploy to negotiate terms on abutting Foxboro land he wanted to acquire.

I don't see the problem with him being a stone cold business man who also wants to leave a legacy of philanthropy, even if it is in the end a bit of ego stroking. I have a ton of respect for him and this article doesn't affect that at all.

 

[mauf]

I don't know where I said I expected Kraft to be perfect. Or that I don't understand that successful businessmen are, by nature, egotists and tough as nails.

The holier than thou act from Kraft is tiring to me. It's not to some others. That's fine. But I don't find the article to be a hack job or even that the author has much of an axe to grind just because it pulls back the curtain a bit.

In what way does he "pull back the curtain" even a little bit? It's a series of anecdotes, from sources of varying degrees of reliability, that don't come together to support any sort of thesis. It's clear that the author doesn't like Kraft; it isn't clear why.

 

[JayMags71]

Knowing that he is a shrewd businessman, I wouldn't put it past him that the dalliance with Hartford was a ploy to negotiate terms on abutting Foxboro land he wanted to acquire.

Was this notion ever in dispute?

 

[RIFan]

Was this notion ever in dispute?

Not to me, but it's a notion that seems to shock people in my experience.

 

[ipol]

Not to me, but it's a notion that seems to shock people in my experience.

 

 

[ManicCompression]

Why can't we get good owners like Jerry Jones, Woody Johnson, and Jim Irsay???
The writer is a hack with a huge agenda. Who would you rather have as an owner of your favorite football team? Kraft is one of the best owners in sports because he hires the best, most knowledgeable staff he can, and then he steps aside and let's them do their thing without interfering.

Because I didn't say he's not a good owner? I can appreciate Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby without also thinking Roman Polanski is a great guy.

The "Kraft brought BB here so he's above criticism!" argument is pretty flat.

And Maufman - I think the majority of patriots fans would not know a lot of what's in this article, particularly the stuff with his son and his behavior in business deals, which multiple in this thread have backed up. You can take that information and say "he's a successful guy and so that behavior is okay". But the average Boston mag reader is probably seeing some of this stuff for the first time, thus pulling back the curtain.

He's a complex guy, as we all are. That's why we have a thread where people of differing opinions are discussing him. I personally don't think he's probably all that different from Jerry jones - he's just better at PR.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

My dad had some business interaction with him and it's clear to me that the guy is completely ruthless to the point of sociopathy. I don't care; I root for the patriots and he's been an unequivocally good thing for them.

 

[Van Everyman]

Exactly how are we defining "ruthless"? Is there s single example of real "ruthlessness" in that article?

 

[ZP1]

You can present yourself as a saint without constantly telling people you're a saint. It doesn't really matter because all these owners are six of one and half dozen of the other, but I'd just rather he shut up and count his money rather than have him talk about players buying into the Patriot Way as he counts his money.
 

 
 
Not really. The problem with image management is that if you're not actively presenting a certain type of image, the public will be more than happy to make their own about you.  The fact that Kraft goes out of his way to do as much image polishing as he does is something that actually gives him leeway when the occasional story comes out that says he was a dick in business dealing X/Y/Z.  Without the extensive image work that Kraft engages in, those small stories might dominate his public image instead of being a minor footnote.  
 
Kraft probably isn't a saint, but it's not likely that he's the devil either.  Attempting to project the image of a saint makes it less likely that people can successfully spin a story that he's the devil.  Proven by this thread where the framing of the conversation is: 
 
"Maybe Kraft isn't all that great" 
 
versus
 
"Wow Kraft is a fucking asshole"
 
From Kraft's POV, you'd much rather people think the former when debating your image rather than the latter.  

 

[Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt]

Or maybe he's just a complicated being, who is mostly, but not all or always, sincere, and who can be ruthless in business but has a generosity of spirit that is admirable and comes from a real place and a good, if imperfect, heart.

 

[Devizier]

Not sure why the author is getting so much heat. Unless there is anything blatantly false in the article, it's not a hack job. It isn't any journalists job to feed the desired narrative. Kraft is a complex man and this gives a more complete picture. In a lot of ways, some of it is favorable to him since many have felt that he may the ruthfulness to take on the NFL. Jonathan after all learned how to conduct business from someone.

 
This is my take as well. I have nothing invested in Kraft's personal reputation. I don't root for Bob Kraft, I root for the Patriots. I'm glad he's a competent owner and that his players like him, because that makes the team more successful. Same goes for Tom Brady. Beyond that, I don't know these guys at all. And honestly, getting some sense of the depth of their personality is more interesting than the typical sports hagiography.
 
I mean, shit, I rooted for Roger Clemens when he was a member of the Red Sox. And that guy is a dushbag.

 

[jasail]

The problem with the article is not that it exposes Bob as a complex man who tries to craft a public image that is in contrast with reality (both real and perceived). The problem with the article is that it is a meandering piece that relies on loose anecdotes and the occasional quote from a aggrieved party to build a narrative that fails to support a coherent thesis. As a result, it comes off as a hack job, when in fact it's just poor writing and journalism. I know that Boston Magazine is not exactly The Atlantic, but I'm still amazed that writing like this gets published and someone gets paid for it. 

 

[TheoShmeo]

The CHB flagged the Kraft piece in one of his recent columns:
 

 
■  There’s a lengthy profile of Kraft in October’s Boston Magazine. Written by Robert Huber, the theme of the piece is, “Something about Robert Kraft feels . . . off.’’
 

Please don't click on this: http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/09/30/thoughts-rex-ryan-judge-berman-weak-afc-and-other-topics/ddujvHI1eHDk4glCkvVKtM/story.html
 
On the one hand, it's a straight up description of the article.  On the other hand, given Dan's many back handed snipes at Kraft (such as the frequent references to him sitting on high chairs), I can't help but think that he was dying to add "...and that theme is right" at the end of that line.  

 

[lexrageorge]

Because I didn't say he's not a good owner? I can appreciate Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby without also thinking Roman Polanski is a great guy.

The "Kraft brought BB here so he's above criticism!" argument is pretty flat.

And Maufman - I think the majority of patriots fans would not know a lot of what's in this article, particularly the stuff with his son and his behavior in business deals, which multiple in this thread have backed up. You can take that information and say "he's a successful guy and so that behavior is okay". But the average Boston mag reader is probably seeing some of this stuff for the first time, thus pulling back the curtain.

He's a complex guy, as we all are. That's why we have a thread where people of differing opinions are discussing him. I personally don't think he's probably all that different from Jerry jones - he's just better at PR.

Any successful (and many unsuccessful ones as well) businessman will make deals that leave their partner less than satisfied for whatever reason.  They will also make deals that leave the folks on the other side of the deal thrilled.  I'm sure Kraft is no exception.  The Boston Magazine article obviously focuses on a couple of deals over the many years (and many hundreds of deals) where the other side wasn't happy.  Kraft's job is not to make the guy on the other side of the deal happy; it's instead to craft a deal that works best for him, and then carry out whatever obligations he has to fulfill that deal.  The same stands true for the other side of the deal.  And in every one of those cases, the other side had the option of not taking the deal, or dealing with someone else.  Such concepts are obviously above the head of the author of the Boston article.  
 
Second, we really don't know any details of what happened between Kraft and his son.  All we know is that his son is not happy.  For all we know, his son may be nothing more than an entitled jerk that expects to receive the lion's share of the family wealth without putting forth any effort of his own.  
 
The article loses a ton of credibility when it attempts to discuss Aaron Hernandez or Spygate/Deflategate.  The author is so off base on his points that it's clear he barely took the time to understand what really happened in any of those incidents. 
 
All CEO's think they're better than their fellow CEO's.  In that respect, that makes him no different than Jerry Jones.  Is Kraft a better person than Jones?  I have no idea, and neither does anyone else posting in this thread.  And neither does the author of that article.  What we do know for a fact is that the Pats would be in St. Louis right now if Kraft didn't buy the team.  So I'm more than happy to cheer for Kraft when he holds the 4 Trophies, and when he verbally attacks the NFL over the various "-gates".  

 

[Super Nomario]

About one quarter of the article relates to Kraft's dealings in Israel and the trips he's taken with various people there, and the obvious love for the country. Can anyone explain exactly what I'm supposed to find objectionable or questionable or nefarious in Kraft's behavior in this regard or how it relates to the theme of the article as a whole? I've read it three or four times and I still can't figure it out.
 
I'm sure there are enough skeletons in Kraft's closet that there's an interesting article to be written about how he isn't what he seems. This isn't that article. This article is about a lot of good things that Kraft did with anonymous quotes casting a harsher light and the author's opinion that things "seem off." If you stripped this article down to actual facts, it would paint the picture of a pretty awesome guy.

 

[TheoShmeo]

About one quarter of the article relates to Kraft's dealings in Israel and the trips he's taken with various people there, and the obvious love for the country. Can anyone explain exactly what I'm supposed to find objectionable or questionable or nefarious in Kraft's behavior in this regard or how it relates to the theme of the article as a whole? I've read it three or four times and I still can't figure it out.
 
I'm sure there are enough skeletons in Kraft's closet that there's an interesting article to be written about how he isn't what he seems. This isn't that article. This article is about a lot of good things that Kraft did with anonymous quotes casting a harsher light and the author's opinion that things "seem off." If you stripped this article down to actual facts, it would paint the picture of a pretty awesome guy.

I'll take a shot.  It's not the trips to Israel per se.  It's -- according to the author -- Kraft's need to have the participants pay homage to him in respect of the trip.  The author suggests that Kraft isn't motivated solely by the desire to share Israel; he wants to do it in such a way that leads the visitors to make Bob part of the story.