New England, MA

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been embroiled in controversy after his video appearance with a bikini-clad woman became an Internet sensation.

The 71-year-old Kraft, however, explained that he was just merely helping 32-year-old Ricki Noel Lander, an actress whom he has described in the past as a friend, prepare an audition tape for an upcoming Vince Vaughn-Owen Wilson movie.

"I tried to help Ricki prepare an audition tape for an upcoming Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson comedy by reading Wilson's lines," Kraft said in a statement from the team.

"I never intended that it would be made public and I regret that it has. I think we can all agree that Owen Wilson has nothing to worry about. I am going to stick to my day job," he added.

Now getting major attention on the Internet, the video was shot in front of a green screen but after the final scene, a blue cloth covered with multiple NFL logos became visible to one side.

Lander, in a bikini, is shown in the video stating her name and saying she is auditioning for the role of "Mary Elena." Kraft then appears and reads a few lines, with Lander responding. At one point in the video, Kraft does a short dance.

The next scene involves a second man, an obvious rival to the Kraft character for Lander's attention. The scene concludes with Kraft uttering an expletive and fake punching the other man.

Last year, sympathy poured in for Kraft after his wife of 48 years, Myra, died after a long battle with cancer.

She managed the Robert and Myra Kraft Family Foundation and was president of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, which contributed millions of dollars to charities in the United States and Israel.

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