Pats owner Kraft formally charged; NFL watching … Officials in Palm Beach have confirmed that New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft has been formally charged with two misdemeanor counts of first-degree solicitation. If convicted, Kraft could face one year in jail, a $5,000 fine, plus 100 hours of community service. The bigger questions for football fans is whether the Patriots will face any additional penalties from the NFL. Indeed, we have had a number of emails over the past few days asking whether the Patriots, who currently have the most picks of any team in this year’s draft, are in any danger of losing any of this year’s 12 selections. The simple answer is no. The NFL put out a statement earlier today in which they indicted that there wouldn’t be any supplemental disciplinary action taken until the legal process was fully played out. And that almost assuredly rules out anything happening before this year’s draft as Kraft’s first court date isn’t until April 24th. The buzz around the league is that if there is ultimately any additional discipline it is more likely to be directed at Kraft personally in the form of fines and a suspension rather than at the team. However, the NFL’s position could all be complicated by the fact that there are rumors that some of the women involved could be the victims of human trafficking which is going to be especially embarrassing for everyone involved. And the NFL doesn’t like to be embarrassed. Stay tuned!
