Whether Robert Kraft is guilty of solicitation may soon become a secondary issue in the legal controversy surrounding videos of the New England Patriots owner in the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Fla. on Jan. 19 and Jan. 20. Recent developments suggest it is only a matter of time before the videos are released through lawful or unlawful means. If the videos go online, there is no practical way they can be permanently removed from the Internet. Once they are up, they are there for good.
From the day Kraft was charged with two low-level misdemeanor offenses, the most damaging threat to his legacy—and, by extension, of potential harm to the NFL’s relationship with important constituencies—has been that the videos go “viral” and millions of curious onlookers watch them.