The sight of Rob Gronkowski shaking off an ankle injury and a Super Bowl loss to dance the night away has drawn the expected amount of criticism, and probably more.
But he's not hearing it from the people who matter most: His bosses.
Patriots president Jonathan Kraft told ESPN Boston Radio on Friday he has yet to see the video, but he doesn't question Gronkowski's actions because of his passion for the game.
“One thing I do know is the guy absolutely is 100 percent a passionate, passionate competitor when it comes to football,” Kraft said. “He loves football. He wants to win. He wants to get better. He doesn’t like losing. I don’t, I guess, know specifically that people are questioning that, but he’s an ultimate competitor and we’re excited he’s on our football team.
"I think the team did accomplish a lot this year, and unfortunately we fell a little bit short of the ultimate goal. I do think that he and the other players probably have different ways of both celebrating what we were able to achieve and dealing with the disappointment of that night, and I think it’s hard to personalize how any individual would deal with that, and then project it on someone else. I’d probably leave it at that."
While Gronkowski draws the post-Super Bowl ire of fans, Kraft said he isn't ready to pass judgment on the decision-making of the 22-year-old, who also made headlines during the team's bye week for some, well, interesting photos that were posted on Twitter.
“(He does) everything and then some that he’s asked to do as it relates to the locker room, the football field, the weight room," Kraft said. "As (young guys) grow up and mature, different things happen. He hasn’t broken any laws, he hasn’t done anything else, and I think it’s hard to place value judgments on things that are personally right for different people."