'There Was No Sex Trafficking. It's a Lie.': Sixers Co-owner Defends Kraft

Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin spoke at a Sports Business Journal conference on Wednesday night, and predictably Robert Kraft's solicitation of prostitution case became a topic of conversation.

Rubin, a close friend of Kraft's, was asked to share his thoughts on what the Patriots owner has been going through and responded with a critique of the Jupiter, Fla. police and the judicial system as a whole.

"I try to find a positive in every negative," Rubin said. "And I think the biggest thing that I've talked to Robert about every day these days is, he's finally seeing what it's like to be a player in the NFL, and a player in the NBA, when you have experiences with law enforcement that aren't the way you thought that they were going to be. You're talking about a guy who it was proven, a month ago, you see all the media talk is about sex trafficking: The whole thing is made up by law enforcement. There was no sex trafficking. It's a lie. They're not even trying to prove it, they've given up, no one's been charged, there was no sex trafficking.

"He was illegally videoed, he was illegally pulled over, and now [Kraft]'s like, ‘Man, I get what our players go through when they get pulled over and they're discriminated against.' I think it's been eye-opening for him. He was, to be honest, like me. A year and a half ago, I thought the criminal justice system worked perfectly in 99.9 percent of situations. Today, I recognize it doesn't work well in most of the situations. And not because they're bad people, but because the system is fundamentally broken."

Hear everything Rubin had to say below:

Rubin and Kraft both are founding members of rapper Meek Mills "Reform Alliance," which aims to change state probation and parole laws.

Kraft waived his arraignment last week and requested a jury trial. Several media organizations, including The Boston Globe, have filed motions to oppose Kraft's protective order of the video evidence of the alleged acts. Kraft's attorneys say police used a fake bomb threat to obtain the videotapes.

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