Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has broken his silence on the Page Six story posted earlier this month involving him and NFL reporter Dianna Russini.
In photos posted by the outlet two weeks ago, the pair was seen spending time together at the Ambiente resort in Sedona, Ariz. ahead of the NFL’s annual owners meetings in Phoenix last month. The Athletic subsequently opened an investigation into Russini’s conduct and her relationship with Vrabel. She then resigned from the publication last week.
Here’s Vrabel’s statement in full:
“Let me first begin by saying thank you for your patience that you've shown in a personal and private matter for me and obviously everybody involved,” Vrabel began. “I know that that's not easy for you and I respect that and I appreciate your efforts in doing so. I understand that I could have addressed you guys sooner, but it was important to me to have a conversation with the players, which I did yesterday very candidly as we began our offseason program, which everyone is excited to be a part of.”
“Stacey [James, Patriots VP of Media Relations] had mentioned the players' availability [today] and it was never my intention to have them speak to you or address you before I did … ” he continued. “I also don't wanna take away from the draft, the weekend of the draft. This is an important time for us as an organization, and the excitement and the joy that those players are going to have that we bring onto our football team. They're starting an amazing journey, one that should be celebrated as we welcome them to our team.
“With that being said, I've had some difficult conversations with people that I care about, with my family, the organization, the players, those have been positive and productive. We believe in order to be successful on and off the field that we have to make good decisions. That includes me, that starts with me. We never want our actions to negatively affect the team. We never want to be the cause of a distraction. Those are comments and questions that I've answered for the team, and with the team and we'll keep those private and to ourselves.
“I care deeply about this football team and I'm excited to coach them. I also know that I'm going to attack each day with humility and focus, and what I can promise you is that my family, this organization, the team, the staff, the coaches, everybody—our fans, most importantly—will get the best version of me going forward.”
Vrabel, 50, led New England to a berth in Super Bowl LX last February. The team began their offseason program on Monday afternoon, and holds the No. 31 pick in this week’s NFL draft.
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MIKE KADLICK
Mike Kadlick is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the New England Patriots for WEEI sports radio in Boston and continues to do so for CLNS Media. He has a master's in public relations from Boston University. Kadlick is also an avid runner and a proud lover of all things pizza.
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