One of the biggest stories in the NFL this offseason was the revelation of the relationship between New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and NFL insider Dianna Russini after the two of them were seen close together at an adults-only resort ahead of the NFL league meetings. Russini eventually resigned from her position weeks later when more photos and videos surfaced while Vrabel
Vrabel did not say much explicitly about the scandal, but according to a recent report from ESPN, it sounds like the New England Patriots head coach wanted to send a much stronger public message.
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Back in April, Page Six published photos of Russini and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel at an Arizona resort. At the time, both denied any wrongdoing. Russini said the photos didn’t represent “the group of six people who were hanging out during the day.”
Despite denying wrongdoing, Russini ultimately resigned before an investigation concluded.
The scandal took another turn following Russini’s resignation when Page Six obtained new photos of Vrabel and Russini close together and kissing inside a New York City bar in March of 2020.
“They were kissing and they were all over each other,” an eyewitness told Page Six. “He had a ring on.”
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At the time that the first photo was made public, Vrabel simply denied any implication behind the photo.
“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” he said at the time. “This doesn’t deserve any further response.”
However, according to a lengthy report from ESPN this week, Vrabel initially wanted to send a much stronger statement in support of Russini.
“According to a person who spoke to Vrabel at the time, the head coach had wanted to issue a stronger statement that defended Russini’s reporting ethics but settled on downplaying the photos,” ESPN reported.
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Ultimately, Vrabel issued a much softer statement, and that worked to his advantage when more photos and videos seemingly confirmed a much more inappropriate relationship than the initial photo showed.
The post Mike Vrabel reportedly wanted to send ‘a stronger statement’ on Dianna Russini appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.
