There is a new twist in the never-ending scandal between Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini, and it involves the team he coaches, the New England Patriots.
New reports (via Pro Football Talk) reveal that The New York Post offered Vrabel a “longer time to respond than what is considered industry norms,” and in turn, the Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft “took advantage of that extended timeframe to put pressure on the reporter and the newspaper.”
However, his attempts in “neutering the story” were unsuccessful. Russini, Vrabel, and The Athletic executives reportedly “scrambled to respond” after the Post posted their report with images of them hanging at a Sedona resort.
The Post was allegedly “open to changing the tone of the story” or even nixing it entirely if Russini and Vrabel “could provide compelling evidence to back up their statements that they had each been on a trip with friends.”
The never-ending Dianna Russini-Mike Vrabel scandal
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.
The scandal between Russini and Vrabel began when they were photographed together at a resort in Sedona. They were captured holding hands and hugging, leading to online speculation. Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that they are both married to other people.
They both denied any wrongdoing. Russini is The Athletic’s lead NFL reporter, and they suspended her upon the initial report coming out. She has since resigned from the outlet.
Her resignation came a couple of months before her contract was set to expire. She noted that she wasn’t accepting the “narrative,” but rather refusing “to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”
Russini’s part in the scandal called the credibility of her reporting into question. After all, she covers the NFL, which includes Vrabel’s Patriots.
It doesn’t appear they had any shortage of chances of putting the fire out before everything came out. Now, they are dealing with the ramifications of it all being reported.
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