The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Owner chatter
Robert Kraft is pulling a few of his punches over “deflategate.” Well, some of them. “Everybody wants to protect their family,” Kraft said when asked about the aftermath of the deflated footballs case from the 2014 AFC championship game that resulted in Tom Brady’s four-game suspension, a $1 million fine for the franchise and the loss of its first-round draft pick in 2016.
“I think our family was involved, or accused of being involved, in something that was mishandled and became inappropriate. Sometimes in a complicated situation in business, people start pointing fingers and we want to assure everyone that we are together.”
Kraft then cited a Hebrew saying from the Old Testament.
“When tough times come,” he translated, “there’s nothing bad that happens that doesn’t have good associated with it. In a way, that galvanized our team.”
After the home victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kraft accepted the Lamar Hunt Trophy — no, Roger Goodell was not on hand to present it — and made a not-tooveiled reference to “deflategate.”
“For a number of reasons, all of you in this stadium understand how big this win was,” Kraft said. “And we have to go to Houston and win one more.”
Brady’s mother ailing
Tom Brady got emotional at Monday’s media gathering.
The Boston Globe explained: Brady’s mother, Galynn, has been dealing with an “In a way, that galvanized our team.” illness for 18 months.
Brady teared up and had trouble continuing when he was asked about his father during the traditionally frivolous media night. On Tuesday at the team’s Houston hotel headquarters, Brady explained his emotional response, citing his parents’ infrequent attendance at Patriots games this season.
“You just have different things that your family goes through in the course of your life and it’s been a challenging year for my family, just for some personal reasons,” he said. “It’ll be nice to have everyone here watching us this weekend.”