NFL coaches ‘are under surveillance’ after Mike Vrabel’s Dianna Russini affair scandal… with female reporters set to suffer repercussions
NFL coaches are facing a ‘trickle-down effect’ from the Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini scandal that erupted in the offseason.
Pictures surfaced back earlier this year of the NFL insider and New England Patriots head coach at an adults-only resort in Arizona.
The pair both denied having an affair after the pictures published by Page Six, before further photos emerged of them apparently kissing in a bar in New York City back in 2020.
Further clips and photos emerged raising questions over the nature of their relationship. Russini was a reporter for ESPN covering the Tennessee Titans when Vrabel was head coach, before later joining The Athletic while he ended up with the Patriots.
Russini resigned in the wake of the scandal, with New York Times-owned outlet The Athletic releasing its findings of an in-depth investigation last week, finding she was ‘noncompliant’ with its standards but finding limited evidence of bias in her reporting.
The report states: ‘Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards. Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed.
The Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini scandal is set to have a knock-on effect around the NFL
An investigation by The Athletic found Russini was ‘noncompliant’ over her reporting of Vrabel
‘Specifically, when it comes to The Athletic’s standards, Russini was noncompliant.’
Vrabel issued an apology just before the NFL Draft, missing the final day of the event to attend counseling.
And according to ESPN, coaches are now ‘under surveillance’ with people around the league concerned about the prospect of getting caught in a similar scenario.
‘All the coaches are under surveillance right now, all the s*** with Vrabel,’ an assistant coach told ESPN.
Another assistant coach told the outlet: ‘It’s the insinuation; you gotta watch yourself because players, coaches, people are looking at you, like ‘Are you in a relationship?” he said.
‘That is the trickle-down effect. Just imagine you’ve been working all day, 14, 16 hours, and you get to come home and your wife says, ‘Hey, did you see this?’ …. It creates the perception of, OK, this is what coaches are doing when we’re out of town or playing away games.’
The report also claims that several female reporters around the league believe the situation has negatively impacted their jobs.
The saga is also being used as a lesson for NFL teams looking to avoid a similar scenario and consider how best to respond.
Russini covered the Tennessee Titans for ESPN when Vrabel was head coach of the team
Vrabel has continued to dodge further questions on the matter after the recent report
Vrabel has continued to dodge further questioning on the matter. After The Athletic report was released last week, he was keen to focus only on the Patriots’ Week 1 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks in the first game of the new NFL season.
Asked of his reaction to the news, Vrabel said: ‘No, I don’t have any reaction.
‘We’ve moved on and focused on Seattle and focused on the Patriots and focused on getting better this week.’
The reporter then pressed further on the matter, to which Vrabel snapped back: ‘I just tried to say that I’ve moved on and [am] excited about this new opportunity here as we start this season.’
