Okay, You Guys Have a Point About the Vrabel–Russini Affair

AJ Brown, the Patriots and the Blurry Line Between Reporting and Relationship

When photos were published of New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel canoodling with prominent NFL reporter Dianna Russini, I chose to err on the side of believing the characters in question. My potentially naive heuristic is that people might avoid or obscure the truth, but they don’t typically outright lie. So when Russini and Vrabel were steadfast in self-defense, I figured, “Sure, it’s not like I can possibly know all the context of these grainy photographs that don’t depict so much as a kiss.” Also, in general, I’m wary of buying the salacious story everybody wants because the truth is often more banal.

Some of you were far more skeptical of the photographed duo and let’s just say…I now see your side. I received a lot of pushback from readers and people within the industry. The most common reply was something like this, via an anonymous tipster:

I looked at those pictures again today and they were taken from really far. No way paparazzi would give a fuck about those two. So where did these pictures come from. Was one of them being followed by a PI? Because their spouse did not trust them?

That’s not really what shook my belief in the defense, though, nor was it the avalanche of unearthed critical comments Russini made about her husband and marriage. It was top NFL reporter Adam Schefter on Philadelphia radio nimbly evading questions from the hosts. Schefty, who knows both people involved and likely has a lot more contextual information, did not laugh off this matter. Instead he grimly said:

I feel bad for the families involved. It’s unfortunate.

Well then. That doesn’t exactly sound like a response to some wacky innocent misunderstanding.