Mike Vrabel opens up about ‘difficult conversations’ after Dianna Russini photo controversy

It’s been a few weeks since Page Six published pictures of New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and NFL insider Dianna Russini in an apparent romantic situation, but Vrabel hadn’t addressed the incident publicly until Tuesday afternoon.

The Patriots head coach spoke with the media at the team facility as New England’s offseason program began, giving a statement from his side. While Russini has offered a few public statements herself, including her resignation from The Athletic, Vrabel had been relatively quiet.

Now, Vrabel has decided the time was right to move forward in the public eye. Here’s what he said on Tuesday afternoon.

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Mike Vrabel addresses media

In his first time addressing the media since the pictures were published, Vrabel said he waited to speak because he wanted to talk with the players first, something that happened yesterday.

«I’ve had some difficult conversations with people I care about about — with my family, the organization, the coaches, the players,» he said. «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.»

Mike Vrabel statement

«Let me first begin by saying thank you for your patience that you’ve shown in a personal and private matter. For me, and obviously everybody that’s involved, I know that’s not easy for you and I respect that and appreciate your efforts in doing so. I understand that I could have addressed you guys sooner, but it was important for me to have a conversation with the players, which I did yesterday very candidly as we began our offseason program, which everyone is excited to be a part of. Stacy had mentioned the players availability and it was never my intention to have them speak to you or address you before I did. And so I asked him to come today and talk with you. I also don’t want to take away from the draft, the weekend of the draft. This is an important time for us as an organization. The excitement and the joy that those players are gonna have that we bring onto our football team, they’re starting an amazing journey one that should celebrated as we welcome them onto out football team.
«With that being said, I’ve had some difficult conversations with people I care about about — with my family, the organization, the coaches, the players. 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. Those are comments and questions that I’ve answered for the team and with the team and we’ll keep those private and to ourselves. I care deeply about this football team and I’m excited to coach them. I also know that I’m going to attack each day with humility and focus. And what I can promise you is that my family, this organization, the team, the staff, the coaches, everybody, our fans most importantly will get the best version of me going forward. And that’s what I know. I’m excited to do that, but I wanted to just address this and thank you for dealing with a private and personal matter.»
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Mike Vrabel opens up about ‘difficult conversations’ after Dianna Russini photo controversy

Mike Vrabel addresses media

Mike Vrabel statement

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