“WHO NEEDS TOM BRADY?”
New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft used his team’s jet to help the governor of Massachusetts pick up 1 million N95 masks the state had bought but could get delivery of from China:
Thank you @Patriots owner Bob Kraft…see below what he did (from @playbookplus ) pic.twitter.com/HDn9Yl7abD
— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) April 2, 2020
Well, if you’re going to lose Tom Brady at least hospital workers will have masks:
Report: #Patriots Plane Flying Medical Supplies In #Coronavirus Fight To Massachusetts https://t.co/GIRPjEXqVx pic.twitter.com/DZf8W08PJR
— WBZ | CBS Boston News (@wbz) April 2, 2020
From the WSJ:
"On board the Boeing 767, in the cargo hold that used to be home to Tom Brady’s duffel bags, were 1.2 million N95 masks bound for the U.S." #wcvb #Patriots https://t.co/iJXoCMh6WR
— antoinette antonio (@antoinetteA) April 2, 2020
China, who gave America the virus, would only let the plane stay on the ground for 3 hours, which turned out to be enough time because nobody managed the 3-hour drill better than the Patriots. From the WSJ:
The plane was permitted to be on the ground in China for a maximum of three hours, people familiar with the matter said, and the crew was required to stay on the plane while a ground crew loaded the cargo. It took 2 hours and 57 minutes. On Thursday, that plane will land somewhere more familiar: Boston Logan International Airport.
Owner Bob Kraft’s son, Jonathan, is on the board of Massachusetts General Hospital, so there was a fit:
The effort began with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, who was concerned about the state’s mask supply and, two weeks ago, believed he had struck a deal to acquire more than a million of them from a collection of Chinese manufacturers. But officials had to figure out how to get them shipped out of China at a time when unusual cargo shipments out of the country can be especially tricky.
“I just have to get them here,” he told a longtime friend.
That longtime friend was Jonathan Kraft, Robert Kraft’s son, who holds two jobs that became highly relevant to the proceedings. Jonathan Kraft is the chairman of the board at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the country’s most renowned facilities. He’s also the Patriots’ president, and the team had something it thought might be of help: a giant airplane.
Well done, everyone.
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