Mike Vrabel’s brief statement following Page Six’s bombshell release of the now-infamous photos of him and former NFL reporter Dianna Russini was not the public reaction the New England Patriots head coach initially had in mind.
“The head coach had wanted to issue a stronger statement that defended Russini’s reporting ethics but settled on downplaying the photos,” ESPN reported in a feature published Monday, September 7.
Page Six published photos on April 7 showing Vrabel, 51, and Russini, 43, appearing to spend time together at a resort in Arizona.
“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” Vrabel said in a statement at the time. “This doesn’t deserve any further response.”
Russini also claimed the photos were innocent, but soon more photos emerged — along with video of the two appearing to kiss at a bar in New York City in 2020.
When Page Six first published the photos, The Athletic launched an internal investigation into Russini’s alleged conduct. The NFL insider resigned from her position days later. Vrabel, for his part, announced that he would seek counseling related to the scandal and even missed the final day of the NFL Draft later that month as part of his treatment.
ESPN also spoke with Patriots players about the immediate aftermath of the controversy to get a better idea of how Vrabel approached his team.
“It’s difficult to explain to people outside the building how he approached it and how players took it,” one player said. “Of course players care about [what happened]. Vrabel is a great leader. Sometimes you have to mess up to become an even better leader.”
Another source added, “Ultimately football players care about respect, they care about accountability, and they care if you can make them better. And if you can do those things, you can be the weirdest person or you can be a stone-cold killer and they won’t care.”
Vrabel hasn’t said much publicly about the scandal since his initial statements. A reporter asked him for a reaction to The Athletic‘s investigation during a press conference on Thursday, September 3, but he declined to comment.
The Athletic’s report, released that day, concluded the two had “a relationship that puts The Athletic’s credibility in jeopardy and gives the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
“No, I don’t have any reaction,” Vrabel responded. “We’re moved on and focused on Seattle and focused on the Patriots and focused on getting better this week.”
When pushed, Vrabel added, “I just tried to say that I’ve moved on and [am] excited about this new opportunity here as we start this season.”
The Athletic did not find evidence that Russini used her platform to inappropriately promote Vrabel or his teams, but that she “told a story to explain the photos that did not align with facts, raising issues of trust.”
