Patriots Owner claims Putin stole his Superbowl ring

[CaptainYooh]

Putin is an epitome of what is wrong with Russia today. Outside world sees him doing extravagant cool manly things like flying with cranes, driving ATVs and exercising martial arts. In reality, he is a nobody, a marionette that was propelled to power by KGB undeservedly, out of nothing and that was able to cling to this power through corruption, manipulation and thievery. Political scene in Russia today is truly sad.

[Faust]

More details from NFL.com

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has made the rounds this week, dishing on Tim Tebow's "spirituality," and telling tales about his encounters with powerful men of the east.

You might recall that Kraft in 2005 joined a cadre of businessmen to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. The Patriots owner walked into that meeting with a jewel-laced Super Bowl XXXIX ring on his finger, but left empty-handed.


"I showed the president my most recent Super Bowl ring," Kraft said at the time, per The Boston Globe. Putin "was clearly taken with its uniqueness ... at that point, I decided to give him the ring as a symbol of the respect and admiration that I have for the Russian people and the leadership of President Putin."


Not so fast. Kraft now admits Putin nabbed the ring -- worth upwards of $25,000 -- without his consent.


"I took out the ring and showed it to (Putin)," Kraft said this week, per the New York Post. "And he put it on and he goes, 'I can kill someone with this ring,' I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out."


Kraft kept his wits about him and complied with a call from the White House, in which a George W. Bush handler told him: " 'It would really be in the best interest of U.S.-Soviet relations if you meant to give the ring as a present.' "


(KGB and the Soviets? Sounds like something out of 1982, not 2005.)


I had an opportunity to chat with Kraft in the hours before Super Bowl XLVI, and asked him which of his Super Bowl victories meant the most. "That's like asking about different children," he said. "Every child is special."


Especially a child kidnapped by the Russians.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

Putin is an epitome of what is wrong with Russia today. Outside world sees him doing extravagant cool manly things like flying with cranes, driving ATVs and exercising martial arts. In reality, he is a nobody, a marionette that was propelled to power by KGB undeservedly, out of nothing and that was able to cling to this power through corruption, manipulation and thievery. Political scene in Russia today is truly sad.

Putin was considered to be pretty effective in the KGB, but he was never a high ranking leader. He left with the rank of Lt Col, basically anyone could get that rank once they figured out where the coffee machine was.

The guy was known for making the right call more then the wrong call, and resigning his commission over the KGB coupe put him right in the fast track to power.

Putin knows how to cultivate relationships and is probably one of the best political navigators in Russia since Andropov ascended.

[puckluck2]

I don't believe his story for a second.

[Jacks]

Never would have happened if Kraft was smart enough to hire Chuck Norris to accompany him.

[Drake]

Dmitry Peskov (Putin's spokesman) released this statement:

What Mr. Kraft is saying now is weird. I was standing 20 centimeters away from him and Mr. Putin and saw and heard how Mr. Kraft gave this ring as a gift."

Who is the lying idiot here? Does Kraft, or anyone, for that matter, really have the balls to make up a lie about the president of Russia?

[habernac]

Originally Posted by Drake

Dmitry Peskov (Putin's spokesman) released this statement:

What Mr. Kraft is saying now is weird. I was standing 20 centimeters away from him and Mr. Putin and saw and heard how Mr. Kraft gave this ring as a gift."

Who is the lying idiot here? Does Kraft, or anyone, for that matter, really have the balls to make up a lie about the president of Russia?

Who do you believe? A former KGB spook or Robert Kraft?

And how is this "new" news? This story was out a few years ago.

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by Drake

Dmitry Peskov (Putin's spokesman) released this statement:

What Mr. Kraft is saying now is weird. I was standing 20 centimeters away from him and Mr. Putin and saw and heard how Mr. Kraft gave this ring as a gift."

Who is the lying idiot here? Does Kraft, or anyone, for that matter, really have the balls to make up a lie about the president of Russia?

It sounds to me like it was just a misunderstanding. If someone hands you a ring, it's probably natural to assume that it's a gift, but it would be a good idea to make sure of that before walking off with it.

[CaptainYooh]

I agree. Putin probably commented something on the ring. Kraft took it off and gave it to him to see. Putin is so used to people giving him all kind of graft, gifts and presents, he just assumed the same and put it in his pocket, while Kraft didn't have the balls to say "no, it's not a gift" right away. Stupid situation he put himself in though. WTF was Kraft doing meeting with Putin, anyway? Promoting NFL?