The Sports Xchange

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, 21 years from his debut meeting in Orlando, vowed then at his first meeting with his peers to make his franchise a respected one.

On Tuesday, Kraft said at the NFL spring owners’ meeting that he will swallow his personal pride for the greater good of the entire league and not appeal punishment handed down after Ted Wells’ Deflategate investigation. The Patriots were fined $1 million, stripped of two draft picks and quarterback Tom Brady was suspended four games.

“The heart and soul that is the strength of the NFL is the partnership between 32 teams,” Kraft said Tuesday morning in San Francisco. “At no time should the agenda of one team outweigh the collective good of the full 32 … In that spirit, I don’t want to continue the rhetoric that has gone on for the last four months. I’m going to accept, reluctantly, what (commissioner Roger Goodell) has given to us and not continue this dialogue and rhetoric. And we won’t appeal.”

Kraft did not take questions after reading his prepared statement. He said he hopes Patriots fans will trust his judgment that taking Deflategate off the agenda is best for the team, its fans and the NFL.

“I have a way of looking at problems – measure nine times and cut once,” said Kraft, who said his decision might have been different last week. “I might disagree with what was decided. But I do have respect for the commissioner and believe that he is doing what he believes is in the best interest of the full 32.”

Kraft met with Goodell on Saturday during a birthday party for a CBS television executive, ESPN reported. The two have helped forward the NFL off the field in multiple ways, including monetary gains from record broadcast agreements and as the lead faces and voices in the 2011 lockout.

“It’s been an emotionally charged couple of weeks as all of you know,” Kraft said Tuesday morning. “I’ve been considering what my options are. And throughout this whole process there have been two polarizing audiences. At one end of the spectrum we’ve had Patriots fans, throughout the country, who have been so supportive and really inspirational to us, and believing in us. But also mindful, at the other end of the spectrum, there are fans that feel just the opposite.

“What I’ve learned is that the ongoing rhetoric continues to galvanize both camps. And I don’t see that changing. And they will never agree. The one thing we can all agree upon is the entire process has taken way too long.”

Kraft said he weighed his two options – “end it or extend it” – over several days. While he is not pleased with the end result, he wants the door closed on the deflated football conversation. That does not cover the appeal of Brady, which is to be heard by Goodell.

Kraft said he still approves of the process set forth in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that makes Goodell the final judge and jury in all disciplinary matters.

“I don’t think anyone can believe that after four months (after) the AFC Championship game, we are still talking about air pressure and the PSI in footballs,” Kraft said. “I think I made it clear when the report came out that I didn’t think it was fair. There was no hard evidence and everything was circumstantial. And at the same time, when the discipline came out, I felt it was way over the top — it was unreasonable and unprecedented in my opinion.”