While much of the country has been scrutinising New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel over his relationship with NFL insider Dianna Russini but the reaction in Foxborough, the team’s home base appears far more clear-cut.
On Tuesday night, Vrabel walked into a Q&A session with season ticket holders at Gillette Stadium and was immediately greeted with a standing ovation, according to TMZ. The room was filled with diehard Patriots supporters and they made it very clear that they are firmly behind their coach despite the controversy surrounding him.
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What the scandal is about?
The scrutiny began after Page Six published photos of Vrabel and Russini at an adults-only resort in Arizona. Since then, additional images have surfaced showing the two gambling at a casino and kissing at a bar.
Russini and Vrabel have known each other for many years. She first covered him when he became head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2018 while she was working at ESPN. In 2023, she joined The Athletic, where covering the NFL, including the Patriots was a key part of her job. She has also spoken about how NFL reporters often need to build close relationships with coaches and sources to do their work.
But what makes all this weird is that both Vrabel and Russini are married to other people. Russini has so far paid the bigger professional price as she has resigned from her position at The Athletic amid an investigation.
However, Verbal still has the support and full backing of Patriots ownership and NFL has also signaled that he will not face any investigation.
Ahead of last week’s NFL Draft, Mike Vrabel said he would miss the final day of the event to seek counselling.
“I can only say that whatever my family needs, that’s what I’m going to provide,” Vrabel told reporters. “But I also understand what’s needed for me here. This is an exciting time. We just finished our first week. Guys are excited. I see leaders developing, the new players that we brought on to the team, and I’m confident that if I weren’t able to be here, that we have people in place that can support them and do those things. So, I’m not sure what’s going to be needed of me, but I just know that I’m going to take the necessary steps with the people that I care about. That’s my family and this team,” according to New York Post.
