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Who’s in the Owner’s Box? Jews!
https://atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/whos-in-the-owners-box-jews/
https://atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/whos-in-the-owners-box-jews/
January 30, 2019
NFL players aren’t overwhelmingly Jewish, but to no one’s great surprise, Jews make up a reasonable portion of the community, starting at the very top – the owners.
[SUP]Ten of 32 NFL owners have some publicly known Jewish heritage, including Arthur M. Blank and Robert Kraft.[/SUP]
The players of the National Football League aren’t overwhelmingly Jewish. But to no one’s great surprise, Jews still make up a reasonable portion of the NFL community, starting at the very top – the owners. Ten of 32 NFL owners have some publicly known Jewish heritage, at least two of whom will be watching the Super Bowl with great interest. While their histories and relationships with Judaism are varied and diverse, all share a commitment to philanthropy that, in many cases, stems from their Jewish upbringing.
Arthur M. Blank – Falcons
Beginning close to home, Blank is a very well-known figure in the Atlanta Jewish community. The owner of the Atlanta Falcons was recently named the AJT’s entrepreneur of the year. With a Super Bowl in the still-new Mercedes Benz Stadium just a few months after Blank’s other sports venture, Atlanta United FC, claimed the Major League Soccer cup on the same field, the stadium he helped fund is developing a championship pedigree.
Blank is a staple of the Jewish community, a co-founder of Home Depot and a noted philanthropist – an icon of Jewish Atlanta.
Robert Kraft – Patriots
Next of note for Super Bowl LIII is Kraft. Among the most regularly practicing Jewish owners of the NFL, Kraft grew up in Brookline, Mass., at Congregation Kehillath Israel, where his father was a lay leader.
He delivered a keynote address at Yeshiva University in 2016, discussing his Jewish upbringing, among other topics. He said that his father pushed him to become a rabbi, but he instead went into business, initially working for a packaging company owned by his father-in-law.
Recently, Kraft was a recipient of the 2019 Genesis Prize, sometimes referred to as the “Jewish Nobel,” for his work combatting anti-Semitism and support for the state of Israel.
Kraft’s team, the New England Patriots, are, without question, the most successful team of the 21st century and are playing Sunday in their ninth Super Bowl since 2000.
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