New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel spoke out for the first time more than a week after Page Six published photos of the 50-year-old getting cozy with The Athletic’s senior NFL insider, Dianna Russini.
“We believe in order to be successful, you have to make good decisions. That starts with me. You never want your actions to negatively affect the team… or be the cause of a distraction,” Vrabel said during a pre-NFL draft press conference on Tuesday.
Vrabel and Russini, both married to other people, were spotted on March 28 by photographers holding hands and hugging at the Ambiente resort in Sedona.
Page Six reported that the two spent much of the day together indulging in the resort’s many amenities, including the getaway’s private rooftop bungalow and hot tub.
Both parties stated they were spending time with a larger group at the time and denied that anything romantic was happening in the photographed interactions.
Vrabel said in his Tuesday remarks that he wanted to wait to address the issue publicly so he could have some “difficult conversations” with people he cares about, including his family and the NFL. He stated that he had spoken to his team the day before.
He described the dialogue as “positive and productive.”
“What I can promise you is my family, this organization, this team, the staff, the coaches, and the fans, most importantly, will get the best version of me going forward,” the head coach said, adding that he will coach the players with “humility and focus.”
The Daily Beast reached out to Vrabel for comment.
While Vrabel is still on the NFL’s payroll, Russini has resigned from her post at The Athletic since the scandal, maintaining that she covered the NFL with “professionalism and dedication.”
“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,” she explained her resignation in an April 14 letter to Athletic executive editor Steven Ginsberg.
She explained that The Athletic supported her and was conducting a standards review of her reporting, but after days of “self-speaking speculation” that she said was “unmoored from the facts,” she decided not to continue in her position.
Russini stated that she had “no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept,” according to the letter.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Russini for comment.
Ginsberg publicly stated that The Athletic planned to continue its standards review despite her exit.
“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,” Ginsberg said of the investigation.
The scandal also claimed another scalp after USA Today cut ties with its NFL reporter Crissy Froyd, 26, after she publicly cheered the departure of Russini.
Froyd was fired following a blistering social media response to Russini’s departure from The Athletic.
“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” Froyd wrote. “We know who you really are and what you’ve been up to for years.”
She also labeled Russini, 43, a “detriment to women in sports.”
