And there it is.
I figured there was more coming from the scandal surrounding New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel when he announced late last night that he would be missing day 3 of the NFL Draft to attend counseling, following the release of photos showing the married coach with now-former NFL reporter for The Athletic, Dianna Russini.
The photos, first published by Page Six, surfaced a couple weeks ago showing Vrabel holding hands and lounging in a pool with the (also married) reporter on a rooftop in Sedona, Arizona.
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 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 hey, maybe it WAS a girls trip and none of them took any pictures. That wouldn’t be uncommon for a girls trip, right?
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 earlier this week 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.”
And while he said he was ready to move forward, last night the Patriots dropped another bombshell when the team announced that their coach would be stepping away from the team during the NFL Draft to seek counseling.
As reported by ESPN, Vrabel confirmed that he will miss day 3 of the draft on Saturday:
“As I said the other day, I promised my family, this organization and this team that I was going to give them the best version of me that I can possibly give them. In order to do so, I have committed to seeking counseling, starting this weekend. This is something that I have given a lot of thought to and is something I would advise a player to do if I was counseling them.”
It definitely seemed like there was more to the story, or something new that was about to drop.
Well, it just did.
Page Six released new photos this morning showing Vrabel and Russini kissing at a New York City bar back in March 2020, while Vrabel was head coach of the Tennessee Titans (and married to his wife). Russini was engaged at the time, and married her now-husband six months after the photos were taken.
Vrabel was wearing his wedding ring in the photos, and according to Page Six a source reported that it didn’t appear anyone recognized the couple in the dimly-lit bar.
Now, there have been questions swirling about Russini’s connection to Vrabel for a while now. In fact, the date on this tweet is just days after the new photos were taken:
But this new drop certainly explains why the sudden announcement that the coach wouldn’t be with the team for the full draft.
Of course it also raises questions surrounding Russini’s work over the past few years, and whether she used her reporting to influence trades to the teams coached by Vrabel. The Athletic has already announced that they have instituted a review of all of her work, and you’ve gotta think this is only going to make it harder for her to find a new landing spot covering the NFL.
