Delayed Gratification

Until now, we had one mere tweet from Shank about New England Patriots' owner Robert Kraft and his legal problems stemming from an arrest for solicitation at a Florida massage parlor. Here's the column Shank has waited an entire month to write.

The Robert Kraft saga will loom over the NFL meetings

This is not Deflategate. This is not Spygate. This is not “they hate us because they ain’t us!’’ This is not Tom Brady with a MAGA hat in his locker or Donald Trump reading a supportive letter from Bill Belichick on the eve of the election. This is not the owner of the Patriots hitching a ride on Air Force One.

Things continue in this vein for a few paragraphs, then Shank tells us everything about the whole sordid mess that we've been hearing about for the past four weeks, which means you can skip all that stuff and get right to the conclusion:

What does all this say about Kraft’s decision-making and his fitness to run the Patriots?

Nothing - maybe Shank can figure out that these are two different questions?

How could an individual return to the same spa one day after getting pulled over by police and being asked to produce ID? Why would anyone attend Oscar parties just hours after a news conference announcing his impending arrest? How does this landslide of protest affect Kraft’s ability to run his football team?

Kraft is clearly headed for another showdown with Goodell. Is this perhaps a good time for Bob Kraft to step aside and let his son Jonathan run the team?

Just asking.

UPDATE AT 5:40 PM - Link to Shank's column now included, for better or worse...