When Robert Kraft — the billionaire owner of the Patriots — was in Germany last weekend to see his squad play the Colts, he made an unexpected and emotional stop.
Though the Pats are having a rough season in the AFC East, Kraft headed to the game in Germany, where the team’s fanbase is massive since drafting a German player, Sebastian Vollmer, in 2009.
Millions tried to buy tickets to the Frankfurt game as soon as they went on sale, and Germany has no less than 16 Pats fan clubs, we hear.
A source exclusively told Pvnew that while he was in the country, Kraft was also meeting last Friday with Adidas at the brand’s HQ — when he realized it was the same day as the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht.
Kraft — the creator of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism — headed to nearby Nuremberg to honor the 30,000 German Jews forced into concentration camps and the 900 synagogues firebombed during the 1938 pogroms.
A source told us Kraft went to “the memorial of a synagogue that got destroyed” and “lit a candle and said a prayer to all the victims of that horrible genocide.”
We hear Kraft told friends of the trip, “I was standing there, and placing this candle — and had the CEO of Adidas next to me — [and was thinking] how sad it is that 85 years later we are seeing the same signs of this in the world.”
We reported that when Adidas sold off its $1.3 billion in Yeezy products this year, the company included Kraft’s blue square pins from his $25 million Stand Up to Jewish Hate campaign with every purchase.
In an “emotional weekend,” back at the team’s hotel, we hear that 3,000 Pats fans were lined up around the block, chanting Kraft’s name in support when he arrived.
Said a sports insider, “That [usually] only happens when it’s the Super Bowl. It was nice to see that kind of support… a juxtaposition to the seriousness of what happened.”
The source added, “It was quite a weekend, but it made people realize how important the foundation Robert started was, and also how unique the football community is, coming together, to see Germans support in that way.”
Kraft’s campaign has seen stars including Tom Brady, Dave Matthews, Mike Tyson and Jon Bon Jovi wearing the blue square pins.
Kraft and Philly rapper Meek Mill marched together in Poland this year in the 35th International March of the Living, and they commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, we previously reported.
Said a source of the blue squares, “It’s really something that’s very simple that reaches out to all people to push back on hate in all forms.”
