The New England Patriots and owner Robert Kraft had reportedly drawn the ire of much of the NFL's ownership thanks to 2007's Spygate scandal. As a result, many of the league's owners hoped to see NFL commissioner Roger Goodell throw the book at Kraft and Co. in the wake of the recent Deflategate saga, according to a report from Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN, published Tuesday.
Per ESPN, Kraft and the franchise considered Deflategate a "witch hunt" from the start, suggesting it was born of petty jealousy from teams sick of seeing Brady and New England win year in and year out.
They may not have been far off, at least in regards to the opinion of much of the rest of the league.
The report suggests that many teams and owners had developed a sort of "jealous...hater" feeling toward the Patriots and urged Goodell to "go hard" after the Patriots over Deflategate. Kraft had threatened legal action against the league in a public forum in May, but ultimately decided against it. It seems part of the reason for Kraft's decision was the lack of support he felt from other owners.
"The one that stunned him the most -- the one that really rocked him -- was John Mara," a "close" friend of Kraft's said, via ESPN. Mara, of course, is the highly-respected president and CEO of the New York Giants. Per the report, Mara signaled to Kraft that he shouldn't move against the league and that the owners were "not there with [Kraft] on this."
For his own part, Mara apparently denies ESPN's account, but league sources indicated to Wickersham and Van Natta that Mara privately thanked Kraft after he announced he would accept the league's punishment.
But Mara, apparently, was not alone in hoping to see the Patriots suffer. From ESPN's report:
"Roger did the right thing -- at last," an owner said after Goodell upheld Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension. "He looks tough -- and that's good."
Another owner said only that he was "pleased" with Goodell's decision, while an executive, said to be close to an owner, indicated his belief that the Pats punishment was "overdue."
