A major scandal has rocked the NFL as New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and a leading NFL reporter – who are both married to other people – were spotted by Page Six holding hands and hugging at a luxurious hotel.
The 50-year-old coach and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, 43, were seen two weekends ago at the Ambiente in Arizona, a romantic adults-only resort nestled within a vast mountain range.
A Page Six source reports the pair had breakfast on the patio of the hotel restaurant on Saturday, March 28, before spending an hour or so together at the pool and lounging side-by-side in a hot tub.
They were later spotted again on a private rooftop connected to one of the hotel’s exclusive two-person bungalows.
The news outlet reports while there the pair shared an embrace at sunset and were seen “weaving their fingers together as they stood face-to-face” and even briefly danced together.
In a statement to the NY Post, in response to the pictures published, Vrabel said the interaction was “completely innocent”, and any other suggestion is “laughable”.
“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” Vrabel told the NY Post.
“This doesn’t deserve any further response.”
Russini also broke her silence in a statement to the NY Post.
“The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day,” Russini said.
“Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”
But Page Six disputes that they were part of a wider group.
“Three other eyewitnesses told us that they did not see anyone else with Vrabel and Russini,” Page Six reports.
“Asked if the Pats coach visited the hotel with a group of friends, one eyewitness said: ‘No, he was with a girl.’ And our sequence of photographs taken at various points during the day show only Vrabel and Russini.”
Russini’s employer, The Athletic, also played down the interaction.
“These photos are misleading and lack essential context,” Steven Ginsberg, executive editor of The Athletic, told the NY Post.
“These were public interactions in front of many people. Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we’re proud to have her at The Athletic.”
Vrabel and Russini have shared a long professional history.
Russini spent eight years at ESPN beginning in 2015 before accepting the lead NFL insider role at The Athletic in 2023.
While working for ESPN, she was among the reporters tasked with covering the Tennessee Titans, where Vrabel worked as head coach from 2018 to 2023.
He would later accept the head coaching role at the New England Patriots in 2025 and would take them to the Super Bowl in his very first year in charge.
Vrabel has been married to his wife Jen for 26 years.
They have two sons, one of whom, Tyler, previously played for NFL side the Atlanta Falcons.
While Russini married Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt in 2020.
They also have two children together.
She marked their 2022 anniversary on Instagram, writing: “2 years today was the best day of my life — when I married Kev in front of our family and dozens of friends over zoom! It’s you and only you, for me, forever.”
– This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission.
