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."
"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."
I can't make this stuff up. I wish I could.
In any event, Putin having the ring was known for years but this part slays me the most:
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.'
LMFAO
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