Don't Expect Robert Kraft to Accept Reported Deal in Prostitution Case
Robert Kraft has reportedly been offered a get out of jail free card on charges of soliciting prostitution. Only, don’t expect the Patriots owner to accept it.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Kraft was offered a deal by authorities in Palm Beach County, Fla. where he wouldn’t face prosecution for soliciting prostitution in exchange for an admission that he could be proven guilty in a court of law.
There’s reportedly a bunch of other conditions Kraft would have to accept to in order for this deal to be completed, including 100 hours of community service, screening for STDs and taking an education course on prostitution, but at its heart, this is about him admitting some form of guilt in public, which ain’t gonna happen.
I’m told 95 pct of time charges are dropped for first-time offenders if conditions - i.e a classes - are met. For Kraft, the reportedly unusual request to say he would have been found guilty undercuts claim he did “nothing illegal.” Does he just fold tent or fight on? https://t.co/07wMIZ0lC4
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) March 19, 2019
Kraft, the Patriots billionaire owner, has already denied the charges brought against him through his lawyer, who said in a statement, “We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity.”
We don’t need to read between the lines on this one. If he didn’t engage in ANY ILLEGAL ACTIVITY, why would he admit he could have been found guilty?
The answer is, he won’t. Tom E. Curran, who covers the Patriots for the NBC Boston, feels the same way.
I agree. If his contention is that the recorded trysts weren’t “transactions” but just fits of passion as “I did nothing illegal” suggests, does him no good with NFL or the women he trysted with to say he was soliciting prostitution. https://t.co/qKuhGC3SWK
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) March 19, 2019
Kraft was charged in February with two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution as part of a police sting in Palm Beach County, Fla. Authorities say they filmed Kraft visiting a spa in Jupiter, Fla. on Jan. 19 and 20, during which time he paid for sexual services. No evidence has been released and no charges of human trafficking, which was the original point of the sting, have been made.
While the latest plea deal would exonerate him in the eye of the court, it wouldn’t in the eye of the public. In fact, it would be the exact opposite. Jokes would flow in about the Patriots owner admitting he went to a rub and you know what, and memes would flood the internet about deflated balls.
For an owner who is in the public spotlight as much as Kraft, and for a man who clearly cares what the public thinks about him (RE: Meek Mill), any admission of guilt at this point would undermine the throne Kraft has built for himself as the cool, successful NFL owner. With the resources Kraft has at his disposal, that probably isn’t an option worth exploring.