The New England Patriots have come under fire following a ‘tone deaf’ Mother’s Day post in the midst of the ongoing Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel affair scandal.
The story has dominated NFL headlines over the past month after Page Six first published images of the pair holding hands at an adults-only resort in Arizona.
In the weeks since, Russini has resigned from her role at The Athletic and Vrabel has been to counselling, while more and more previously-innocuous videos are shedding light on their alleged secret romance that has now become so public.
The scandal took another controversial turn this week following reports that the pair rented a private boat together in 2021, during a period when Russini was pregnant.
A source with knowledge of the rental said Vrabel and Russini were the only people aboard the boat, and that claim has been supported by a signed company waiver.
With the latest pictures fresh in the mind of NFL fans, they couldn’t help but rip into the team when they shared an ‘out of touch’ Mother’s Day post on Sunday afternoon.
The New England Patriots have come under fire following a ‘tone-deaf’ Mother’s Day post in the midst of the ongoing Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel affair scandal
This post by the Patriots on Sunday was quickly swarmed upon by trolls on social media
The Patriots shared a simple message on the day, writing: ‘Happy Mother’s Day Pats Nation’, which was quickly swarmed upon by trolls on social media.
‘This might be the most tone deaf, out of touch, social media team in history,’ one fan wrote on X, in response to the Patriots’ post.
Another said: ‘This is absolutely insane for you guys to post rn lmfao. Bravo to your social media manager.’
‘Pats social media person is lowkey a troll bro,’ another fan joked.
Earlier in the week, a separate clip from the same interview also went viral, after Russini made a wild comment about having sex with her husband.
The interview is believed to have been filmed in April 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Russini and Vrabel are on the Zoom call but seemingly in separate locations.
Russini was asked to name ‘something you close your eyes to do?’
The NFL insider then bizarrely responded: ‘When you have sex with your husband or wife.’
Vrabel has been married to his wife, Jen, for over two decades and they have two children
Russini and husband Kevin Goldschmidt were married in New Jersey in September 2020
The rest of the guests burst out laughing while some squirmed awkwardly. It appears Vrabel is using a laptop to the side of his camera shot and briefly pauses what he is doing and shakes his head at Russini’s answer.
Barstool chief Dave Portnoy, an avid Patriots fan, replied to the video on Thursday night: ‘What the f*** is this clip!!! I disavow! There is no way this can be real. Can we just play some football! Hut hut! Blue 42! Blue 42!!! Hut! Hut!’
It is not the first time Russini has been caught saying something disparaging about her husband, Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt.
A clip from a 2021 episode of ESPN’s Get Up was recently unearthed, during which Russini discussed her marriage.
‘I’m married to someone average,’ she said at the time. ‘I don’t post a lot about him. If I was married to someone beautiful, I’d over-post too.’
Her ESPN co-hosts later gave Russini a chance to correct herself, to which she explained: ‘We’re average together.’
‘And you know what the worst part is,’ she continued. ‘He sent me a text during that segment – not watching ’cause he actually works for a living — and he said, ‘Good luck today. Be great on Get Up.’
‘So the guy’s got a heart of gold, and here I am on national TV killing him,’ she laughed. ‘Look, we’re average together, but he makes me above average because he married me. I am so sorry, I need to really stop killing my husband on television. I’m going to be divorced by Christmas!’
Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel both appeared on ‘Barstool Feud’ during a Covid lockdown
This weekend, meanwhile, Vrabel was spotted making a tense return to New England Patriots practice amid the ongoing scandal.
Vrabel was seen barking instructions during punt-protection drills and physically demonstrating techniques to sixth-round draft pick Namdi Obiazor.
The Vrabel and Russini scandal escalated further on Thursday when video footage emerged of them arriving for a romantic boat trip that allegedly took place just months before she gave birth to her first son.
Russini and Vrabel reportedly hired a vessel for two or three hours in June 2021, when he was still coaching the Tennessee Titans and she was reporting on him for ESPN.
