In making his first public address since becoming the subject of scandalous tabloid photos, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel appears to have split the public over his and the team’s response to the simmering controversy.
Earlier this month, the New York Post published suggestive photos of Vrabel at an adults-only resort with The Athletic’s NFL insider Dianna Russini. Both married with two sons, Vrabel and Russini have each denied any wrongdoing, insisting the photos of them hugging and hanging poolside are misleading.
Russini was ultimately placed on leave and investigated by The Athletic’s parent company, The New York Times, only to resign from her position last week.
Meanwhile, other than describing the Post’s story as ‘laughable’ in a brief statement, Vrabel had been silent on the matter until ostensibly making himself accountable to the public at Tuesday’s press conference.
But while admitting to having ‘difficult conversations with people’ he cares about, including family and players, Vrabel was executing a cynical media strategy, according to Boston Globe columnist Ben Volin.
‘… the way Tuesday’s press conference went down, with a last-minute sneak attack on the media and strict ground rules established by the Patriots, doesn’t sit right,’ Volin wrote, adding that the event cut ‘against Vrabel’s message of accountability.’
Mike Vrabel has admitted he’s been forced to have ‘difficult conversations with people I care about’ as he addressed the Dianna Russini photo scandal for the first time on Tuesday
Russini was placed on leave, The Daily Mail learned, before ultimately resigning last week
Volin did not take issue with Vrabel’s decision to hold off on addressing the controversy until after he could discuss the controversy with the team. Likewise, Volin had no problem with Vrabel’s decision to address the reports prior to this week’s NFL Draft, when the focus should be on the players entering the league.
The problem, Volin wrote, is that the Patriots media relations team did not tell reporters about Vrabel’s press conference until moments before he took the podium. And with local media expecting only a few players at Tuesday’s availability, Vrabel faced only a handful of reporters during what proved to be a tightly controlled environment at the team practice facility.
‘The Patriots easily could have sent a heads up Monday night or Tuesday morning that Vrabel would be talking,’ Volin wrote. ‘Instead, they purposely chose a time and method that would minimize the number of reporters asking him questions.’
The Daily Mail has sought comment from the team, which has declined to comment on the matter with local media.
And it wasn’t only the timing that raised eyebrows. Several reporters noted that the Patriots created some strange ground rules for the exchange. Following Vrabel’s opening statement, he stepped off to the side with reporters, who were told to turn off cameras and video phones.
Russini and Vrabel have known each other since his time as head coach of the Titans
Furthermore, according to online reports, the Patriots restricted the questioning to football topics only.
Despite this, Vrabel was asked about Russini losing her job and he politely declined to address that topic. Others followed with similar questions, but the reigning NFL Coach of the Year wasn’t pulled back onto the topic of Russini.
‘I appreciate your job and what you guys have to do, but I have to make my comments and what I answer about our football team,’ Vrabel said.
Many fans agreed with Volin’s assessment.
‘There was no sincerity,’ one wrote on X. ‘No accountability. You’re acting like state run (sic) media unable to criticize fearless leader.’
‘Vrabel is such a coward,’ another added. ‘Waited weeks to let the reporter take the fall and now bumbles thru a presser.’
One critic accused Patriots spokesman Stacey James of running ‘the NFL writers in this market like a mob boss.’
But many others sympathized with Vrabel and the Patriots.
‘Sneak attack on the media?’ one asked on X. ‘Give me a break.’
‘The media has been wanting him to address the situation publicly,’ another wrote. ‘He did that, so what’s the problem?? Is it because he did it his way, not yours?’
‘Great they outsmarted you guys,’ one wrote before paraphrasing former Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s famous deflection: ‘We on to Cincinnati.’
Even some local reporters have slammed the fascination with the story, including Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard.
‘If it was my job to cover extramarital affairs about owners, executives, players, coaches, I’d never cover the games,’ Bedard told 98.5 The Sports Hub hosts Mike Felger and Tony Massarotti.
Whether the Patriots were right or wrong in having Vrabel address the controversy on short notice, it remains unclear if he’ll ever discuss the topic again.
‘In order to be successful on and off the field, you have to make good decisions. That includes me. That starts with me,’ Vrabel said Tuesday.
‘I care deeply about this football team and excited to coach them. I also know that I’m going to attack each day with humility and focus,’ he added. ‘What I can promise you is that my family, this organization, the team, the staff, coaches and our fans, most importantly, will get the best version of me going forward. That’s what I know and I’m excited to do that.’
A Patriots spokesperson said there are no current plans for other team officials to address the controversy.
