USA TODAY International Edition
Pats owner Robert Kraft known for philanthropy
Businessman supports wide range of charities
BOSTON – Just weeks ago, before Robert Kraft won his sixth Super Bowl as owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots, he was awarded perhaps a greater honor.
The Genesis Prize is awarded to leaders of Jewish heritage “who have attained international renown in their chosen professional fields” and “have made a significant contribution to improving the world.” It’s sometimes called the Jewish Nobel Prize.
The announcement capped decades of good works by the billionaire businessman. The $400 million he has contributed to a wide range of causes has earned him enormous goodwill in Boston and beyond.
Now Kraft is charged in Florida with soliciting prostitution. Authorities say he paid for sexual services at Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, an operation police say is tied to an international human traffic ring.
Through a spokesman, Kraft has denied any illegal activity. In addition to legal jeopardy, he could face disciplinary action from the NFL.
The allegations stunned New England, where Kraft is a towering figure.
A spokeswoman said Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker “finds these allegations deeply disturbing and condemns all acts of sexual exploitation.”
Kraft has been seen in the league and beyond as a figure who works to bring people together. He is credited with helping to settle the labor dispute that threatened the 2011 NFL season.
A Democrat, he is a longtime friend of President Donald Trump. He visited the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last year following the mass shooting there that killed 11. A vocal supporter of Israel, Kraft has taken NFL players to the Jewish state on league-sponsored trips.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to present the 2019 Genesis Prize to Kraft in June. It comes with $1 million to be donated to Jewish causes.
A spokeswoman for the Genesis Prize did not respond to messages from USA TODAY.
Kraft is CEO and chairman of the Kraft Group, a holding company for several businesses. They include the RandWhitney Group, a family-owned packing company that launched his business career. In addition to the Patriots, he owns the New England Revolution, a Major League Soccer team.
His charitable causes include the Kraft Center for Community Health and the Kraft Family Blood Lab at the DanaFarber Cancer Institute in Boston. He also created the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation to support philanthropic agencies in the region.
Kraft leads a grant program that distributes gifts of $100,000 to area nonprofits, and he maintains a permanent endowment with Partners HealthCare to train and recruit health care professionals, according to the Kraft Group.
The endowment, totaling $20 million, supports the Kraft Family National Center for Leadership and Training in Community Health.
Rich Copp, a spokesman for Partners HealthCare, declined to comment on the charges. Other organizations Kraft has supported, including the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and Brandeis and Columbia universities, did not respond to requests for comment.