The Patriots are flying 1.2 million N95 masks to the U.S. from China after a "tense, weekslong saga" that began with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and "winded through embassies, private partners and the U.S.’s most successful football franchise," according to Andrew Beaton of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. A Patriots-branded team plane departed Shenzhen, China, at 3:38am local time yesterday. Sources said that the plane was "permitted to be on the ground in China for a maximum of three hours," and the whole process took 2 hours and 57 minutes. There had been an "anxious process to win approval from Chinese officials" to land and collect the masks. Patriots Owner Robert Kraft said, “I’ve never seen so much red tape in so many ways and obstacles that we had to overcome.” In order to make the delivery happen, Kraft and his son, Patriots President Jonathan Kraft, "first had to check if the plane was ready and able to make such a lengthy journey on such short notice." In addition to handling the logistics and the plane, the Kraft family agreed to pay $2M, or "approximately half the cost of the goods." Kraft Sports & Entertainment COO Jim Nolan, who helped lead the effort, said, “What we needed were boots on the ground to gather the goods and get them to the right place" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/2). NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports Kraft also "bought 300,000 masks with his own money for New York that will be delivered to the Javits Center tomorrow" (TWITTER.com, 4/2). NBCSN’s Chris Simms said, “Way to go, Mr. Kraft. That’s an awesome thing to do. Awesome contribution to society. ... He’s one of my favorite owners. He really cares about people" ("PFT," NBCSN, 4/2).
MORE CHARITABLE EFFORTS: NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano noted the Kraft family and the Patriots "turned Gillette Stadium into a donation center” this week, as more than $100,000 worth of food and supplies was donated to food banks and homeless shelters. The stadium was used as "both a drop-off and pick-up site” (“NFL Total Access,” NFL Network, 4/1).
LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE: In Boston, Ellement, McGrane & Puzzanghera note the "remarkable delivery is on one hand heartening, a glimmer of good news amidst the constant drumbeat of gloom." However, it also "underscores just how haphazard and decentralized the American response to the pandemic is, and the lengths individual states must go to secure critical gear" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/2).
