Robert Kraft spoke out about Jabrill Peppers being on the commissioner's exempt list.
And according to New England's owner, if the allegations against Peppers are true, he won't be a Patriot for much longer.
He was placed on the Patriots' safety list on Wednesday after being arrested on strangulation and cocaine possession charges related to an incident in which he allegedly strangled his girlfriend and pushed her down a flight of stairs last weekend.
craft, Appearing on “The Breakfast Club” on Friday morningthe Patriots confirmed they would part ways with Peppers if the allegations against him turned out to be true.
However, he stressed that the team will wait until all the facts are confirmed before making a final decision.
Kraft also noted that he was arrested in 2019 on charges of solicitation at a massage parlor, but that charge was dropped.
“We live in a world now where there's a lot of information on social media and things like this get reported unfairly,” Craft said. “When you first read this, it makes you angry. But we learned — and I don't know the facts of this case, and [Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo] They called me and talked about it, but once he's on the Commissioner's exempt list, they do their own checks. We're doing our own thing. And if the reports are true, he is no more.
“There were some suggestions that this was a set up and that what was being reported was not accurate. I have never in my life, if there was anyone, any of you three. I've seen that it's better to choose. Someone can set something up and say something, but that's not true. I've personally had that happen. There's a saying I used with all the main characters: Measure nine times, cut once, and in this case, if the reports are true, he's gone. But we want to know the facts.”
Last Saturday, police responded to a disturbance call at 4:15 a.m. regarding an incident involving Peppers and his girlfriend.
The caller explained that the former Giant “beat her, strangled her, took off her clothes and forced her outside.”
However, according to court documents obtained by TMZ, Peppers denied the woman's claims and said he was acting “erratic” because he refused to have unprotected sex with her.
Peppers has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and battery. assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; strangulation; at Monday's arraignment, he was found guilty of possession of a class “B” substance, believed to be cocaine.
He posted $2,500 bail and was ordered to stay away from the woman.
Peppers' attorney, Mark Brofsky, said the evidence in the case, “including videotaped evidence, casts real doubt on the allegations.”
During his time off from the league, Peppers will not participate in practices or games.
However, he will continue to be paid in the third year of his three-year, $24 million contract with the Patriots.
