Robert Craft, owner of the New England Patriots, told the Boston Globe that in 2005 he did not gift his Super Bowl ring to Russian president Vladimir Putin; in fact, Craft told the paper, Putin stole the ring.
"I took out the ring and showed it to [Putin], and he put it on and he goes, 'I can kill someone with this ring,' " Kraft told the crowd at Carnegie Hall's Medal of Excellence gala. "I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out."
Kraft then called the White House to ask for advice regarding the stolen ring, and a rep for George W. Bush told him that "It would really be in the best interest of U.S.-Soviet relations if you meant to give the ring as a present."
However, a spokesperson for Putin told CNN that the prez did not steal Kraft's ring, adding that he found Kraft's story "weird." Finally, the rep reiterated the original story that the ring was a gift from Kraft.
Another rep, from the Pats, told NFL.com that the stolen ring story is a "humorous, anecdotal story that Robert re-tells for laughs," adding that it was the creation of "some Patriot fan clubs in Russia."
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