– In case Vladimir Putin is watching. Give me back the damn ring.
These words are said to have been shouted into a microphone by the owner of the NFL club New England Patriots, Robert Kraft (82), during a performance in Los Angeles on Sunday.
It was during the show “The Roast of Tom Brady”, where famous people insulted the NFL legend with joking features, that the 82-year-old breathed new life into an old story that gained column space around the world.
Revealed: – Hundred in a heartbeat
Klein atmosphere
The story dates from 2005 and is as follows:
Robert Kraft claims he showed Russian President Vladimir Putin a Super Bowl ring during a trip to Russia. Putin is said to have liked both the size and the fact that the ring contained a total of 124 diamonds.
– I could kill someone with this ring, Putin is said to have said to Kraft when he tried it on his finger.
It must have quickly turned into a bad atmosphere, because Putin refused to give the ring back, according to Kraft. Instead, he put the jewelry in his pocket. After the reports, Kraft is said to have reacted with shock and disbelief, but he was told not to make a scene.
A few days later, the American media wrote that Putin had stolen the valuable ring, and the story really got a leg up.
Refuse
Putin, for his part, has always denied that this is true, and the Russian government believes that the ring was a gift.
– At that time I decided to give him the ring as a symbol of the respect and admiration I have for the Russian people and the leadership of President Putin, Kraft said in a public statement.
That press release came after he was reportedly called by someone in the office of then-President George W. Bush, who believed it was in “the best interest of the country” if Kraft publicly stated that he gave the ring to Putin as a gift.
New life was breathed into the story when Apple TV launched the series The Dynasty in March, which is about how the New England Patriots became a major power in the NFL.
– It is incredible how much attention this story got. But to be honest, we were used to getting a lot of attention at that time, says Kraft.
Watch the clip from the Netflix series here:
