Patriots owner Robert Kraft flies to aid of coronavirus fight

It’s time to rewrite the greatest moments in Patriots history. Make room up high for the one that took place in Shenzhen, China, in the middle of the night, early Wednesday.

That’s where and when the most vital cargo in the history of the Patriots’ airplane, the one that boasts of six Super Bowl titles on its exterior, was loaded aboard the Boeing 767: Protective equipment to be used by health care providers treating coronavirus patients.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his son, team president Jonathan Kraft, stepped up in a big way to join the fight against a global pandemic that has frozen the world as we know it, overloaded hospitals, and resulted in mounting death totals.

Urgent terminology for the Patriots at the moment has shifted from Cover-2, OTAs and TB12 to COVID-19, PPE and N95.

The Patriots announced the particulars of ownership’s effort to help health care professionals, a story first reported on by The Wall Street Journal. The Krafts, a Patriots news release stated, partnered with Gov. Charlie Baker, and purchased 1.4 million N95 masks to replenish the inventory of PPE (personal protective equipment) at Massachusetts hospitals. Robert Kraft also purchased 300,000 N95 masks for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and previously had donated 100,000 N95 masks to New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.

Whatever you think of Kraft’s football team or his politics — and there is no shortage of ardent supporters and critics on both topics — you have to love that he’s all in on his support of a more pressing fight than any Super Bowl. To whom much is given, much is expected, and he’s exceeding expectations here.

Nobody would have criticized him if he hadn’t done this.

“It is an honor for our family to be a part of this humanitarian mission,” Kraft said in a statement released by the Patriots. “We knew that purchasing greatly-needed N95 masks and providing the Patriots’ plane to expedite their delivery to local hospitals would immediately help protect our courageous healthcare professionals. Multiple organizations across the public and private sectors, all of which were in lockstep with Governor Charlie Baker’s visionary leadership, worked together to execute this mission with the purpose of helping save lives. I truly hope that in doing so, we can in some way inspire others to find creative ways to give more in support of our doctors, nurses and first responders. It’s nice to care for those who provide such compassionate care for us.”

Kraft is shining the spotlight on front-line heroes, nurses and doctors in this strange battle new to all of us. He’s asking the rest of us to try to think about how we all can help. For most of us, that’s by practicing social distancing, washing our hands obsessively, and tearing through episodes of “Ozark” and “Tiger King.”

He has the wherewithal to do more than that, and he is, which will inspire Patriots players to pony up as well.

“I’m extremely proud,” team captain James White said on a video conference call with reporters Thursday. “He does stuff like that all the time. It starts from the top, as soon as you step in the building you see how much community work the Kraft family does and it’s very infectious. Each and every person who steps in the building tries to do as much as they can to help others out. It’s really cool to see, and I hope all of us can do whatever we can to help others in this trying time.”

White’s one of the friendlier Patriots, always in an upbeat mood, but like everyone else in the world at the moment, he’s thinking a lot about the seemingly endless reach of COVID-19’s toxic tentacles.

“You have doctors, nurses, all those people on the front lines taking care of sick people each and every day. It’s a crazy situation right now,” White said. “People who have the influence to help others, I think it’s an important time for us to try to help as many people as possible, especially those who are sick. There’s some people getting laid off, don’t know when a check is coming or if they’re getting a check, or when their next meal is coming. It’s a difficult time. I know some of us, we’re able to spend time with our family and things are OK. We’re able to get groceries, but there’s some people who aren’t able to get groceries and don’t know when that next meal is coming. It’s difficult for a lot of people.”

That goes for more and more people every day, everywhere. Our nation’s 600 or so billionaires can make a difference. One of them just did.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3aFl73S