Mike Vrabel declined committing to Patriots activities after NFL Draft; Dianna Russini deletes X account

The fallout from the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini scandal reached the NFL Draft on Thursday, with both parties taking action before the first pick was announced.

The New England Patriots head coach, after multiple statements released to the press, personally addressed reporters for the first time since Page Six published photos of him and the former Athletic NFL reporter, both of whom are married to other people with children, hugging and holding hands at an adults-only Arizona resort. Photos of the two at multiple other locales have since emerged.

Vrabel plans to step away from the Patriots on Day 3 of the draft on Saturday to undergo counseling, and said he takes responsibility for his actions in his opening statement:

“I take accountability for my actions and the actions that caused a distraction to the people I care most about, my family, this football team, the organization and our fans. My previous actions don’t meet the standard I hold myself to. They don’t.

“I believe it’s best for the two most important things in my life, my family and this football team, is for us to take the necessary steps to work together and to give them what I told them I’d give them, which is the best version of me. That has started. That’ll continue this weekend and it’ll continue for however long it takes, to complete that promise.”

Meanwhile, Russini, who has since resigned from The Athletic, spent part of the day limiting her exposure to social media. As of Thursday evening, her X and Bluesky accounts are down, while her Instagram has been turned to private. Her Threads account is still up.

Shortly before Vrabel spoke to the media, he made a brief appearance at a Patriots event without addressing the Russini scandal. However, Patriots owner Robert Kraft did make the notable choice of introducing the coach as “a man who has our family’s full support.”

The NFL has already signaled that it will not be reviewing Vrabel’s conduct for any breach of its personal conduct policy, .