After days of speculation about whether or not New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel would face any punishment for his role in the public cheating scandal involving former NFL reporter Dianna Russini, fans finally have their answer.
Russini was being investigated by her former employer, The Athletic, before resigning on Tuesday after two years with the company.
Amid questions about whether Vrabel would be subject to a similar investigation, ESPN’s Ben Strauss reported on Friday that the NFL doesn’t plan to take any action against Vrabel.
“NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league is not reviewing Vrabel’s behavior as part of the league’s personal conduct policy, which states players, coaches and executives are required to avoid ‘conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the National Football League,’” Strauss reported.
“A spokesman for the Patriots did not respond to a question about whether it would review Vrabel’s relationship with Russini.”
Fans Fuming Over NFL’s Vrabel Decision
GettyNew England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel will not be investigated by the NFL over the Dianna Russini scandal
Once news that Vrabel wouldn’t be investigated (and that the NFL couldn’t even be bothered to look into the matter) broke, fans were up in arms.
Several people flocked to social media to call out the NFL for sitting idly by and doing nothing while Russini’s career flashed before her and Vrabel suffered no consequences.
“Patriots and their owner just continue to get away with being the worst possible people,” one fan wrote.
“Make him resign like they did Jon Gruden,” another exclaimed.
“They are not even going to review it? Holy s—, great look NFL,” a third fan replied.
“This is f—— wild! Mike needs to be accountable! I hope his team completely turns on him he is a giant turd!” one user exclaimed.
“So yeh. The woman in this loses her job. The man just carries on as if nothing happened. This isn’t me defending that Russini didn’t cross the line in her conduct. But the man faces no consequences. That’s just not right,” another user pointed out.
“Strange because what Vrabel did precisely was ‘conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in’ the NFL. So is the NFL’s response,” one fan remarked.
“Wait, the head coach of the New England Patriots (the dirtiest most dishonest team in the history of professional sports) will not be investigated by the league run by a man who is great friends with the owner (also a pervert and scum bag) of said team? No WAAYYYY!!!!!!” quipped another fan.
“Expecting the NFL to self police themselves is incredibly naive. It’s a business and everything they do is to protect the owners wealth,” another user posted.
More Details Emerge From Vrabel-Russini Scandal
Strauss also dropped some new information in his report that wasn’t known previously.
He reported that Russini consulted with a crisis communicator once Page Six published the photos of her and Vrabel together. He also revealed Russini and Vrabel collaborated together on how to respond once the story broke.
The Athletic, which initially supported Russini after the allegations went public, asked her to produce any sort of evidence to corroborate her story that she was at the hotel in Arizona for a girls trip and that Vrabel happened to be there.
“While The Athletic had been quick to rush to her defense ahead of the story, now executives asked for more evidence from Russini such as text messages about an airport pickup, screenshots of planning the trip or photos from a hike, the three people said,” Strauss wrote. “They said Russini never provided sufficient evidence.”
Though she resigned, The Athletic is continuing its investigation into the Russini-Vrabel incident, which was a clear violation of The Athletic’s parent company the New York Times’ ethics policy.
“Relationships with sources require sound judgment to prevent the fact or appearance of partiality… It is essential we preserve a detachment, free of any whiff of bias.”
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