New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel will dodge a press conference on Monday about his team’s NFL Draft preparations after denying having an affair with reporter Dianna Russini.
Russini, who works for the New York Times-owned Athletic, is being reinvestigated by her employers after pictures emerged of the pair holding hands and embracing at an adults-only resort in Arizona.
Russini and Vrabel, who are both married, denied suggestions of anything inappropriate, with Russini backed at the time by The Athletic’s executive editor, Steven Ginsberg.
But on Friday, it emerged that ‘additional concerns’ are being reviewed and that Russini will not be reporting while the investigation takes place.
In the meantime for Vrabel, plans for the draft are ongoing but he will not be facing media beforehand like he did last year. Instead, according to ESPN, Eliot Wolf will speak on behalf of the Patriots organization on Monday afternoon.
Last Tuesday, Page Six published exclusive photos showing the 50-year-old coach and 43-year-old NFL insider hugging, lounging poolside and laughing together at the $2,500-per night getaway in Sedona, Arizona.
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini have denied an affair
The two have known each other for years. Russini previously covered Vrabel when he was coaching in Tennessee and she was serving as ESPN’s Titans beat reporter.
When the pictures first emerged, Russini insisted that they were at the resort with other friends who did not feature in the pictures.
‘The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day,’ Russini told FOS through The Athletic. ‘Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.’
Interestingly, The Athletic issued its own denial after the publication, calling the photos ‘misleading’ and lacking ‘essential context,’ while defending Russini’s professionalism.
In his own statement at the time to the Post, Vrabel called the story ‘laughable.’
Per Page Six, Vrabel was at a scouting event at Arizona State University in Tempe on Friday before driving 125 miles to the adults-only hotel – which markets itself as a romantic getaway.
A source close to Russini told Page Six that she was at the hotel ‘during a hiking trip with two female pals.’
