It turns out that New England Patriots President Jonathan Kraft, whose father is team owner Bob Kraft, was a fan of the “No Brady No Banner” movement. In an interview before last night’s preseason finale, he said that the team would not have raised the Super Bowl XLIX championship banner without quarterback Tom Brady on the field.
Kraft told 98.5 The Sports Hub Thursday that the team had a Brady-themed banner ready to go on opening day if Brady’s four-game Deflategate suspension was upheld.
CSN NE notes that Kraft said the banner would have just had Brady’s number 12 on it. He said that the banner might also have had some stats about Brady’s career, like the fact that he’s a three-time Super Bowl MVP and four-time Super Bowl winner.
“When we first talked the first week, the one thing I emphasized is that Tom is the posterchild of what is right with the NFL. He’s the greatest quarterback of all time, an amazing role model in the locker room and classrooms,” Kraft told the station. “He’s an exceptional guy, and why he was put through this, and Judge Berman questioned that also and I realize today was about the process that got him there, but Tom Brady more than anybody deserved this vindication.”
While the Krafts will now get to raise a Super Bowl XLIX banner after all on Sept. 10, there is one banner coming down. Kraft said that they will take down the much-maligned 16-0 banner to mark the team’s perfect 2007 regular season that ended in a Super Bowl loss to make room for new suites. He joked that they might send it to Don Shula.
On Thursday, a Judge Richard Berman overturned the NFL’s four-game suspension of Brady for his role in Deflategate. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will not attend the 2015 season opener against the Steelers.
image courtesy of Elder Ordonez/INFphoto.com