Patriots' Mike Vrabel says he's met with team, had 'some difficult conversations' after photos with Dianna Russini emerged

Patriots' Mike Vrabel says he's met with team, had 'some difficult conversations' after photos with Dianna Russini emerged

A week after NFL insider Dianna Russini resigned from her post at The Athletic in the wake of photos surfacing that pictured her with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at a luxury hotel in Arizona, Vrabel made a statement Tuesday to address the situation.

“I've had some difficult conversations with people that I care about, with my family, the organization, the coaches, the players,” said Vrabel, who earned his second NFL Coach of the Year award last season while leading the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance.

“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 distraction. These are comments and questions that I've answered for the team and with the team. We'll keep those private and to ourselves.”

Vrabel started the statement by thanking the assembled media for their patience in what he described as a “personal and private matter” for both him and everybody involved.

“I know that that's not easy for you, and I respect that, and I appreciate your efforts in doing so,” he said. “I understand I could have addressed you guys sooner, but it was important to 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.”

Vrabel made it clear that it was never his intention to have Patriots players meet with the media before he did. That’s why he arranged to talk to reporters Tuesday, he explained.

“I also don't want to take away from the draft, the weekend of the draft. This is an important time for us, our organization and the excitement and the joy that those players are going to have that we bring onto our football team,” Vrabel said. “They're starting an amazing journey, one that should be celebrated as we welcome them onto our team.”