A downcast Mike Vrabel issued a groveling apology to his family just moments before the NFL Draft started on Thursday night following claims he had an affair with reporter Dianna Russini.
Around the same time the New England Patriots coach gave his unexpected statement to reporters at the the team’s facility, Russini also seemingly shut down her X account.
The pair became embroiled in controversy earlier this month when the New York Post published suggestive photos of them fraternizing at a $2,500-a-night retreat in Sedona, Arizona. The Post later released other pictures, ostensibly showing Vrabel and Russini enjoying breakfast together.
Then on Thursday, exclusive photos from the New York Post purportedly showed Vrabel, then coach of the Tennessee Titans, at the now-closed Tribeca Tavern in New York with Russini, who was working for ESPN and covering the team at the time.
On Wednesday, Vrabel revealed he would be seeking counseling and announced he won’t be with the Patriots for Day 3 of this year’s NFL Draft on Saturday.
Speaking just over 30 minutes before the NFL Draft got underway, he said: ‘I understand that there are questions, but I take accountability for my actions and the actions that caused a distraction to the people that I care most about, my family, this football team, the organization and our fans.
Mike Vrabel issued a groveling apology to his family just before the NFL Draft got underway on Thursday night following claims he had an affair with reporter Dianna Russini
Russini and Vrabel were pictured together at a lavish resort in Arizona earlier this month
‘My previous actions don’t meet the standard that I hold myself to. They don’t. What I believe is best for the two most important things in my life, my family and this football team, is for us to take the necessary steps to work together and to give them what I told them I’d give them, which the best version of me, and that’s what we’re going to do.
‘That’s going to start, that has started, and that’ll continue this weekend and it’ll continue for however long it takes for me to give them and to complete that promise of giving them the best version of me possible.
‘My priorities are my family and this football team – and in that order – and there’s a balance there that I am going to create. My family needs me this weekend and that’s where I’ll be.’
Vrabel has been married to his wife Jen since 1999. Russini, meanwhile, tied the knot with husband Kevin Goldschmidt in 2020. Both couples have two children.
Other than describing the Post’s story as ‘laughable’ in an initial brief statement, Vrabel had been silent on the matter until ostensibly making himself accountable to the public at Tuesday’s press conference.
Asked about his initial ‘laughable’ comment, Vrabel replied: ‘I think that was, you know, always an attempt to protect your family and I would never be dismissive.
‘But I think my family and this football team are the most important thing, and that’s that’s what I plan to do, and I’m excited about the challenge with both of those things.’
He told reporters at the Patriots’ return to practice earlier this week he’d had ‘difficult conversations with people I care about about – with my family, the organization, the coaches, the players’ in the wake of the scandal.
Vrabel has been married to his wife, Jen, for over two decades and they have two children
Dianna Russini married fast food executive Kevin Goldschmidt in 2020 during the pandemic
Vrabel and Russini have both denied any wrongdoing while 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.
In their own statement on Thursday night, the Patriots said: ‘We fully support Mike Vrabel’s decision to prioritize his family first, as well as his own well-being. Mike has been open with us about his commitment to being the best version of himself for his family, this team and our fans, and we respect the steps he is taking to follow through on that commitment.
‘We are confident in the leadership and communication Mike has established with our personnel staff throughout this pre-draft process.
‘While he will not be present at the facility on Saturday, we know the draft evaluations are complete and Eliot Wolf and his personnel staff are prepared to execute our draft as planned this weekend.’
While sources close to Vrabel and Russini insisted to Page Six they were joined by a group of friends in Arizona, ‘multiple eyewitnesses’ reportedly claimed the two were actually ‘alone’.
One witness told Page Six regarding the new photos of them in a bar together on March 11, 2020: ‘They were kissing and they were all over each other. He had a ring on.’
‘They were having a glorious time,’ the source said. ‘They were [giving each other] pecks, a bunch of pecks constantly. There was nobody in there. Nobody knew who they were. I don’t even think the bartenders did.’
Patriots’ billionaire owner Robert Kraft said they are fully supportive of Vrabel on Thursday
The Patriots entered the NFL Draft holding 11 picks. That includes the Super Bowl runner-up’s one scheduled pick (No. 31) in Thursday’s first round. They have one pick each in rounds 2 and 3 on Friday.
But the bulk of their selections will be on Saturday when Vrabel won’t be in the draft room. That’s when they are scheduled to select twice in the fourth round, once in the fifth, four times in the sixth and once in the seventh round.
When asked if he would be missing more Patriots activities this offseason, Vrabel added: ‘I can’t answer that. I can only say that whatever my family needs, that’s what I’m going to provide but I also understand what’s needed from me here.
‘This is an exciting time. We just finished our first week. Our guys are excited. I see leaders developing, the new players that we brought onto the team, and I’m confident that if I weren’t able to be here that we have people in place that 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.’
