Finally addressing the elephant in the room.
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel addressed the swirling scandal surrounding himself and former NFL reporter for The Athletic Dianna Russini for the first time during a press conference today, weeks after photos showing the married coach holding hands and appearing close to the (also married) reporter on a rooftop in Sedona, Arizona.
Vrabel, who led the Patriots to the Super Bowl this past season in his first season with the team, can be seen holding hands with Russini and embracing on what Page Six says is the rooftop of a private bungalow. And further photos show the two lounging together in a pool and hot tub.
According to Page Six, eyewitnesses said the two appeared to be alone and nobody else was spotted with them during their time together – which is a problem because both Vrabel and Russini are married, and not to each other.
The Patriots coach has been married to his wife Jen Vrabel since 1999, and the couple have two children together. Russini, meanwhile, has been married to Shake Shack vice president Kevin Goldschmidt since 2020, and also have two children together.
In the immediate aftermath, both Vrabel and Russini issued statements claiming that the photos were taken out of context.
According to Vrabel:
“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable. This doesn’t deserve any further response.”
And Russini likewise claimed that the photos are misleading:
“The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day. Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”
Initially, Russini’s employer also issued a statement standing by their reporter:
“These photos are misleading and lack essential context. These were public interactions in front of many people. Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we’re proud to have her at the Athletic.”
But things changed last week, when the New York Times-owned publication announced that Russini had resigned and an internal email revealed that their investigation had raised “new questions” over the photos:
“When this situation was brought to our attention last week, there were clear concerns, but we received a detailed explanation and it was our instinct to support and defend a colleague while we continued to review the matter.
As additional information emerged, new questions were raised that became part of our investigation.”
Russini, for her part, claimed that her resignation was not an admission of anything improper, but simply her way of trying to put the scandal to bed:
“Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30. I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”
Now, it definitely seems like Russini could have just provided pictures from this group trip proving that her and Vrabel weren’t there alone. Pull out the group chat planning the trip, hotel receipts, pictures…something that makes it look like anything other than two married people sneaking off to a romantic resort.
But I digress.
While Russini has attempted (poorly, in my opinion) to defend herself, Vrabel seemed to take accountability during his first comments on the situation, which came during a press conference today ahead of the Patriots’ offseason workouts:
“I’ve had some difficult conversations with people that I care about, with my family, the organization, the coaches, the players. Those have been positive and productive. We believe in order to be successful on and off the field, you have to make good decisions. That includes me, that starts with me. We never want our actions to negatively affect the team. We never want to be the cause of a distraction.”
Vrabel said he would keep his conversations with the team private, but that going forward he wants to be the best version of himself for those who count on him.
It definitely sounds like those tough conversations were about more than a girl’s trip that he crashed, but it also sounds like Vrabel is ready to put the scandal behind him.
