The New England Patriots typically use their team plane to travel to road games during the season, but it is now being used for something that is much more important than sports right now.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the team plane was used to transport over one million N95 masks from China to the United States, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“I’ve never seen so much red tape in so many ways and obstacles that we had to overcome,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said, according to the Journal. “In today’s world, those of us who are fortunate to make a difference have a significant responsibility to do so with all the assets we have available to us.”
The Kraft family paid $2 million to acquire the masks. They initially ordered 1.7 million masks, but only 1.2 million could fit on the plane. The remainder will be delivered in another shipment.
Massachusetts governor gave a “huge thanks to the Krafts and several dedicated partners for making this happen” in a tweet.
“It is an honor for our family to be a part of this humanitarian mission,” Robert Kraft said in a statement. “We knew that purchasing greatly-needed N95 masks and providing the Patriots plane to expedite their delivery to local hospitals would immediately help protect our courageous healthcare professionals. Multiple organizations across the public and private sectors, all of which were in lockstep with Governor Charlie Baker’s visionary leadership, worked together to execute this mission with the purpose of helping save lives.
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“I truly hope that in doing so, we can in some way inspire others to find creative ways to give more in support of our doctors, nurses and first responders. It’s nice to care for those who provide such compassionate care for us.”
