The Patriots claim to be over Deflategate, but team president Jonathan Kraft couldn’t resist taking one more shot at the franchise that started it all on his pregame radio interview.
Kraft, on 98.5 The Sports Hub, was asked about Colts owner Jim Irsay’s decision to fire general manager Ryan Grigson. Kraft was reminded of Grigson’s last visit to Gillette Stadium, the Patriots’ 45-7 beatdown of the Colts in the 2014 AFC Championship game. Kraft said he didn’t know anything about Grigson’s firing, but did take a parting shot at the Deflategate-originating franchise.
“You’d have to ask Jim Irsay about it. He’d be the one to ask. That game might have been Ryan’s pinnacle, I don’t know. But Jimmy can talk about what’s going on with the Colts. We’re fortunately playing football today,” Kraft said.
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Although Kraft might still be shading the Colts, he said there are no hard feelings between his family and the Rooney family over Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s locker room speech after Pittsburgh’s divisional-round win.
Kraft said that no member of the Rooney family had called to apologize, but an apology was unnecessary.
“No, but we wouldn’t have expected them to,” Kraft said. “There was nothing to apologize for.”
“Cameras aren’t usually running at that part but I’m pretty sure that on any given NFL Sunday, 26 of the 32 teams, if not all 32, are saying similar things. It’s just, the public doesn’t see that.”
Kraft said that parts of postgame speeches are meant to stay between coaches and players and should stay that way. He supports using social media to show fans certain moments from inside the locker room, as long as the content can be edited.
“I think all teams do do it and NFL Films does it but it’s edited,” Kraft said. “It’s edited. And it should be edited at that point and, especially, it should be edited. We’re doing it and with the right types of editorial control and there are just some things that should stay within the locker room.”
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Kraft had a full weekend. He attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
“I’ve never been to one before,” Kraft said. “It was, to see that and to be fortunate enough to be pretty up close to it and watch that smooth transition of power that I think we all take for granted in this country. If you’ve traveled around the world you know that’s not something to take for granted.”
Kraft was asked who he expects to see at a Patriots home game first: President Trump or NFL commissioner Roger Goodell?
“I’m going to let you place the over/under on that,” Kraft said.