New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has spoken for the first time since the Dianna Russini situation.
For the first time since photos came out showing New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel hugging and holding hands with Dianna Russini at an adults-only hotel in Arizona, Vrabel has spoken.
Vrabel and Russini, who are both married to other people, told the Post that the photos didn't accurately reflect their interaction.
However, after initially receiving support from The Athletic, Russini announced last week that she was resigning from her role at the outlet.
"I've had some difficult conversations with people I care about -- with my family, the organization, the coaches, the players," Vrabel said Tuesday. "Those have been positive and productive. We believe in order to be successful on and off the field, you 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. There are comments and questions that I've answered for the team and with the team. We'll keep those private."
Vrabel said he wanted to make a statement on Tuesday so he could address the media before his players were asked questions about the story and to try to minimize distractions heading into the NFL draft this week.
In his initial response to the Post, Vrabel said the photos with Russini showed a "completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable." When asked on Tuesday if that was still his stance, Vrabel declined to answer.
"I appreciate the question," Vrabel said. "I'm going to focus on our football team. I think I addressed what I felt like was important."
Vrabel, 50, won three Super Bowls as a player with New England. He is preparing for his second season as head coach of the Patriots after leading them to a 14-3 regular-season record last season, which ended with a Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
In her resignation letter last week, Russini said that she covered the NFL with "professionalism and dedication throughout my career," but decided to step down because of the "media frenzy" that had followed the Post report.
The Athletic is reviewing Russini's past reporting, according to a letter that executive editor Steven Ginsberg sent to the organization's staff last week.
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