A spokesman for Vladimir Putin has
emphatically denied that the Russian
president ever stole a Super Bowl ring
from New England Patriots owner
Robert Kraft, days after Kraft
originally made the extraordinary
allegation.
Putin does currently possess the
championship ring made for Kraft
when his Patriots defeated the
Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl
XXXIX. Kraft said in 2005 that he gifted
the ring to Putin when the two met
during a function in St. Petersburg.
"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," he
said in a statement.
However, Kraft changed his tune at
Carnegie Hall’s Medal of Excellence
Gala in New York on Thursday night,
recounting his interaction with Putin
as such: “I took out the ring and
showed it to [Putin]... he put it on and
he goes, ‘I can kill someone with this
ring." When Kraft tried to retrieve the
ring, he continued, the Russian
president "put it in his pocket," and
exited the room with a coterie of "KGB
guys."
The George W. Bush White House
dissuaded Kraft from trying to retrieve
the ring, fearing a diplomatic debacle,
Kraft reportedly said.
"What Mr. Kraft is saying now is
weird," said Putin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov. "I was standing 20 centimeters
away from him and Mr. Putin and saw
and heard how Mr. Kraft gave this ring
as a gift."
The ring, which is reportedly worth
upwards of $25,000, was one of three
Kraft has earned with the Patriots to
date.
No comments:
Post a Comment