New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft made his first public appearance yesterday since the arrest of former tight end Aaron Hernandez after returning to the country from vacationing in Europe, according to the Boston Herald.
"If this stuff is true, I've been duped and our whole organization has been duped," a sad-faced Kraft said. "Here we have a guy who, man, it looks like had the world by the tail. He said to me he wanted to be a role model to the Hispanic community.
"He was kind enough to give a check (for $50,000 from the $40 million contract extension given to him by Kraft last August, that included $16 million in guaranteed money) for my beloved wife's memorial charity. He said we'd given him a second chance and I believed him. He was the most likeable young man. This is all sad to me. Very sad."
Kraft, who was speaking outside the advice of his attorneys, said he felt the need for the public to hear from the organization, and began a reading from a prepared speech before taking questions from the press:
"I want to thank each of you for coming here today. Today is my first business day back in the country since Aaron's arrest; I arrived back in the country on Saturday. I want to establish up front that I have to be limited in what I talk about today as there is an ongoing criminal investigation, as well as other potential civil proceedings. In regards to that, I have been advised by my General Counsel to limit the subject matter of our discussion today. That being said, I do think it is important that our fan base hear directly from our organization. Also, out of respect to each of you and the organizations you represent, I wanted to do this face to face and not over the phone from Europe.
"Following Aaron's arrest, I read a number of different accounts of how things transpired in our organization. Let me be clear, we decided the week prior to Aaron's arrest that if Aaron was arrested in connection with the Lloyd murder case that we would cut him immediately after. The rationale behind that decision was that if any member of the New England Patriots organization is close enough to a murder investigation to actually get arrested - whether it be for obstruction of justice or the crime itself, it is too close to an unthinkable act for that person to be part of this organization going forward."
Hernandez is currently being held without bail after pleading not guilty last week to first-degree charges in connection to the execution-style shooting death of Odin Lloyd. Hernandez has been held at Bristol County jail since June 26, the day he was led from his North Attleborough, Mass., home in handcuffs. On June 27 a Bristol County Superior Court judge upheld the decision that he be held without bail.
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