Patriots Owner Robert Kraft: Donation Over 'Dirt'

While other NFL owners this week are mired in controversy, New England's boss made a record donation to a Boston hospital.

While other NFL owners may be a tad nervous this week in light of an ESPN report claiming Washington Commanders' beleaguered boss Dan Snyder has "dirt" on his peers, Robert Kraft is holding his head high.

Not that Kraft is immune to negative headlines - a certain massage parlor allegation in 2019 comes to mind - but the New England Patriots owner this week is being heralded for a record-breaking charity donation. Kraft and his family's foundation are giving a historic gift in support of community health equity to Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital.

The $50 million donation is the largest gift in the hospital's 211-year history.

Kraft says his commitment to health equity began when his late wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Past gifts from the Kraft family included financial support for recruiting doctors to jobs in underserved communities and a previous donation that created the Kraft Center for Community Health.

"When my beloved Myra got sick about 12 years ago, I saw the great care she got. We have the greatest hospitals in the world right here in Massachusetts," said Kraft. "But then I started thinking, what if I was someone of modest means or a person of color, did I have the same access?"

According to Forbes, Kraft's Patriots are the second-most valuable NFL franchise - behind only the Dallas Cowboys - at $6.4 billion. The 81-year-old is listed as the 59th-richest person in America in 2022 with a net worth of $10.6 billion.

The Washington Commanders are responding to the charge that Snyder has gathered "dirt" on several NFL owners as leverage in his on-going legal kerfuffle with the league and its investigation into sexual misconduct by him and his front office.

Says Washington's statement about ESPN's report:

“It’s hard to imagine a piece that is more categorically untrue, and is clearly part of a well-funded, two-year misinformation campaign to coerce the sale of the team, which will continue to be unsuccessful.”

As for Kraft's unprecedented philanthropy, hospital officials say much of his gift will be used to create a permanent Robert K. Kraft Endowed Chair in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion addressing health disparities in clinical care at MGH.

Says Kraft, "Diversity equity, inclusion. That's a big area today that isn't being serviced properly."

A portion of the donation will be used to grow the endowment for the Kraft Center for Community Health, which was first established in 2011 with the goal of developing scalable solutions to community health problems.

"We need to give education and we need to give equal health care to all," said Kraft.

Some of the money will also fund an expansion of the Mass General Blood Donor Center, which will be renamed in honor of the Kraft family. Hospital officials say the center already serves more than 12,000 donors each year and provides approximately 30 percent of the blood used for transfusions across the Mass General Brigham hospitals.

Kraft serves as an honorary co-chair of the hospital's ongoing $3 billion fundraising campaign, alongside his son Jonathan Kraft and daughter-in-law Patti Kraft.

Kraft's Patriots take on the Browns Sunday in Cleveland in a battle of backup quarterbacks.

---

Follow Richie Whitt on Twitter

New England and beyond! Get your Patriots game tickets from SI Tickets ... here!

Follow Patriots Country on Twitter and Facebook

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Patriots? Click Here