Mike Vrabel talks about ‘difficult conversations’ he had during Dianna Russini drama
Patriots head coach Mike Vrbael spoke to the media for the first time since photos of him with Dianna Russini were leaked.
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- Vrabel acknowledged there had been “difficult” conversations with families and players, but declined to provide specific details about the situation.
- The NFL is not expected to take any disciplinary action against Vrabel over the incident, as he has not filed criminal charges and did not violate any professional ethics standards.
The word salad is not an apology. Or accountability.
New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel met with reporters on April 21 for the first time since a photo of himself and The Athletic’s former NFL insider Deanna Russini surfaced, but he used many words and didn’t say much. He acknowledged having “difficult” conversations with families and players, but did not say why they were necessary.
Without acknowledging why the warning was necessary or what the all-too-familiar photo of the exchange with Russini foreshadowed, Vrabel said success requires everyone, including himself, to make the right decisions on and off the field. He said he never wanted to be a distraction, but was a little vague about whether he meant it in a personal or general sense.
He promised his family and the Patriots the best version of him going forward. Once again, we don’t acknowledge the elephant in the room.
Mike Vrabel doesn’t owe us details, but he didn’t take accountability.
If anyone had been living under a rock for the past two weeks, they would have listened to what Vrabel said without having any idea what he was saying or why he was saying it. This is not how it should be. Either you take responsibility for your own inappropriate actions or you don’t, but please stop spewing out so much PR rhetoric that makes people read between the lines and hold them accountable.
When asked directly about Russini, Vrabel said he could not answer.
“While I respect and appreciate all questions, I cannot comment on anything related to that,” he said. “I appreciate your work and what you all have to do, but I have to comment and answer for our football team.”
That’s fine. We don’t need details about what happened between Russini and Vrabel at the Arizona resort or what exactly he said to his wife, family and players.
Mike Vrabel makes his responsibilities with the Patriots a top priority.
But Vrabel has long preached the importance of accountability, and last year said it was beneficial for both him and his team.
“I think that’s what we’ve always tried to build: the ability to hold people accountable and to hold each other accountable,” Vrabel said last November. “Not in a negative way, but in a positive way to help myself and help the team.”
Is this what it looks like?
All Vrabel had to say was that he had failed. He apologized for the pain the photo controversy caused his wife and family and the embarrassment it caused the Patriots and their fans. Out of respect for everyone involved, he did not intend to say anything further, but said he would continue to work to regain everyone’s trust.
See how easy it is?
For Mike Vrabel, there’s no other fallout from the NFL’s Patriots.
The NFL is hardly a bastion of purity. “We must always strive to be men of character…and conduct ourselves in a manner that reflects favorably on ourselves, our teams, the communities we represent, and the NFL,” Vrabel said, notwithstanding the stated policy of conduct.Vrabel does not intend to be disciplined for this. He has not been criminally charged and has not violated any fundamentals of professional ethics.
Moreover, there are many people who have done far worse than Vrabel. So does Patriots owner Robert Kraft. He was arrested on solicitation charges in 2019 after he was caught on video receiving sexual services twice at a massage parlor. The charges were dropped after a judge ruled the video was inadmissible.
However, if you claim to be a follower of a moral code and claim to do things the “right” way, it is not unreasonable to expect you to admit your mistakes and do it in a transparent manner.
That’s not what Vrabel did.
He made the statement to protect his players from being under siege and because he didn’t want the photo with Russini to overshadow the NFL Draft later this week.
If Vrabel was sorry, he should have said so. Instead, his statements were made in the most confusing way possible, using generic expressions and saying “we” when this wasn’t a group project.
Vrabel preaches accountability, but his words say something different. They say almost nothing.
Follow USA TODAY sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
