{"id":129752,"date":"2026-04-28T18:22:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T22:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/patriots-captains-deflect-questions-about-mike-vrabel-dianna-russini-controversy-were-just-focused-129752"},"modified":"2026-04-28T18:22:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T22:22:42","slug":"patriots-captains-deflect-questions-about-mike-vrabel-dianna-russini-controversy-were-just-focused","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/patriots-captains-deflect-questions-about-mike-vrabel-dianna-russini-controversy-were-just-focused-129752","title":{"rendered":"Patriots captains deflect questions about Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini controversy: ‘We’re just focused’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

While focus should be on the New England Patriots<\/a> heading into the 2026 season looking for redemption after a Super Bowl loss, the hot-button topic of head coach Mike Vrabel\u2019s relationship with ex-The Athletic reporter Dianna Russini was prevalent on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Tight end Hunter Henry is obviously aware of the situation at hand with Vrabel, who spent Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft<\/a> away from the team to seek counseling amid the Russini controversy.<\/p>\n

But Henry, and the rest of the Patriots, are trying to focus on football as much as possible.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“Obviously, you know, I know you guys want to hear about everything that’s going on, but to be honest with you, we’re just focused,” he told reporters on Tuesday, per Yahoo Sports<\/a>. “I’m focused on what we got going on right now in this building with this team.<\/p>\n

Henry, a team captain, added that he\u2019s “just focused on the guys in this locker room and trying to build it from the ground up.” In other words, he\u2019s not going to be commenting on his head coach\u2019s off-the-field controversy.<\/p>\n

Fellow captain Robert Spillane was also asked about Vrabel\u2019s situation, but he echoed Henry\u2019s sentiment.<\/p>\n

ARE WE SURE MIKE VRABEL WILL SURVIVE RUSSINI SCANDAL AND COACH PATRIOTS THIS SEASON?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“Coach coaches football. He keeps the main thing the main thing,” Spillane said, per MassLive. “I know he\u2019s dealing with personal issues. But when we\u2019re in the building. We speak football.”<\/p>\n

While Spillane wasn\u2019t going to comment on others\u2019 relationship with Vrabel, he did note that he would “be here to support him” as he believes his coach would do the same.<\/p>\n

Vrabel spoke publicly about the Russini controversy, and he noted during his statement that he spoke with players.<\/p>\n

“I thought he did a great job,” Henry said about Vrabel\u2019s handling of the situation when it came out. “It\u2019s been the same Vrabes bringing a lot of energy in the room, so, I mean, obviously, he addressed it. That\u2019s kind of what I\u2019ll say about it.”<\/p>\n

The Patriots released a statement before the first round of the draft this past Thursday, saying they “fully support” Vrabel.<\/p>\n

“Mike has been open with us about his commitment to being the best version of himself for his family, this team and our fans, and we respect the steps he is taking to follow through on that commitment,” the statement read<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We are confident in the leadership and communication Mike has established with our personnel staff throughout this pre-draft process.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

JORDON HUDSON SHARES OLD POST AIMED AT CRITICS AFTER BILL BELICHICK’S TUMULTUOUS FIRST SEASON AT UNC<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Vrabel was with the Patriots for the first two nights of the draft, but he stepped away for rounds 4-7 to seek counseling.<\/p>\n

“As I said the other day, I promised my family, this organization and this team that I was going to give them the best version of me that I can possibly give them,” Vrabel said in a statement, per ESPN.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“In order to do so, I have committed to seeking counseling, starting this weekend. This is something that I have given a lot of thought to and is something I would advise a player to do if I was counseling them.”<\/p>\n

Vrabel also told reporters he\u2019s had “some difficult conversations with people that I care about” regarding him and Russini being photographed together at a Sedona,\u00a0Arizona,<\/a>\u00a0private resort in his first public comments about the controversial relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since then, photos have surfaced from 2020 showing Vrabel and Russini kissing at a bar in New York City. The\u00a0pictures exclusively obtained by the\u00a0New York Post<\/a>\u00a0were taken in the early hours of March 11, 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“They were kissing, and they were all over each other,” an eyewitness told the outlet. “He had a ring on.”<\/p>\n

Russini reportedly married Kevin Goldschmidt, her husband and a Shake Shack executive, six months after the photos were snapped. Goldschmidt and Russini also share two children.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vrabel has been married to his wife, Jen, since 1999, and they share two sons together. In the pictures, Vrabel\u2019s wedding band is visible on his left hand while conversing with Russini. At the time, Russini was with ESPN, while Vrabel was coaching the\u00a0Tennessee Titans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0This past month, Vrabel and the former The Athletic reporter were seen holding hands and hugging at the luxury resort in Arizona. Photos of their intimate interaction were first released in April.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The photos showed the two sunbathing by a pool, in a hot tub and on the roof of a bungalow holding hands and embracing, which caused a league-wide uproar. Russini, the subject of an investigation by her employer, The Athletic, resigned as a result.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vrabel has since returned to the Patriots as they continue their offseason workout program. The team\u2019s rookie minicamp is also slated for May 8-10.<\/p>\n

Follow Fox News Digital\u2019s<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0sports coverage on X<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and subscribe to<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/patriots-captains-deflect-questions-mike-vrabel-dianna-russini-controversy-focused <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While focus should be on the New England Patriots heading into the 2026 season looking for redemption after a Super Bowl loss, the hot-button topic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-129752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPatriots captains deflect questions about Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini controversy: 'We're just focused' - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/patriots-captains-deflect-questions-about-mike-vrabel-dianna-russini-controversy-were-just-focused-129752\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Patriots captains deflect questions about Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini controversy: 'We're just focused' - 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