Patriots coach Mike Vrabel has “made himself the story of the draft” as the controversy around his relationship with NFL reporter Dianna Russini continues to swirl, according to Nora Princiotti of THE RINGER. A story Vrabel “had hoped would die was invigorated” as more pictures of the two continue to be released and Vrabel himself announced he would miss the third day of the draft on Saturday to attend counseling. His absence for rounds 4-7 has “given any sports media members who had previously been cautious about engaging with tabloid-y news a pure football way in.” Meanwhile, the planned actions of Vrabel and the Patriots changed throughout the course of the day on Thursday. The Pats initially told the media that either Vrabel or Exec VP/Player Personnel Eliot Wolf “would speak after the team’s first-round selection.” The team then “released a statement of support for Vrabel” after the new pictures hit social media. Vrabel then held a seven-minute press conference prior to the start of the first round. Princiotti: “It’s baffling to think that Vrabel and the Patriots thought they could get past this story so quickly” (THE RINGER, 4/24). NBC’s Sam Brock noted Vrabel and the Patriots “are the talk of the league” despite the draft taking place. NBC’s Carson Daly called it a “pretty sticky situation” and said, “Something tells me we’re not done with this story.” NBC’s Sheinelle Jones; “Sticky situation, putting it mildly” (“Today,” NBC, 4/24).
FINDING A FAVORABLE CROWD: MASSLIVE’s Karen Guregian noted Vrabel before addressing the media on Thursday “appeared at the Patriots draft party for season ticket holders at Gillette Stadium” and “spoke to the crowd.” He made “no mention” of the Russini controversy and instead “talked football.” One fan yelled, “We love you, Mike.” Another screamed, “We support you.” Wolf and Patriots owner Robert Kraft “also spoke, and did not mention Vrabel’s off-field situation” (MASSLIVE, 4/23).
BECOMING A BIG DEAL: YAHOO SPORTS’ Charles Robinson writes Vrabel missing Saturday’s draft action as well as “potentially other parts of the offseason” means this “isn’t a nothing reality.” Robinson: “Not if you believe coaches and front offices that have told us for years how critical this process is when it comes to putting a franchise’s best foot forward.” This “is a thing now,” and if there is “more to come, the media cycle that we’ve seen over more than the last two weeks will simply begin again.” Robinson wrote, “Some things are bigger than football. But some things bigger than football are also self-created and come with professional fallout.” He added, “Just the necessity of a franchise owner issuing a statement of support and an NFL commissioner brushing the mess away as a ‘team matter’ is embarrassing, particularly for a franchise that had its share of PR nightmares threaded through two-plus decades of dominance” (YAHOO SPORTS, 4/24).
A CLEAR DISTRACTION: MASSLIVE’s Guregian writes the situation is a “battle that keeps getting worse,” and one Vrabel “continues to lose.” When it comes to the Patriots specifically, the compilation of stories has created a “major distraction at an important time for the football team.” It appears this “isn’t going to end any time soon” (MASSLIVE, 4/24). BOSTON SPORTS JOURNAL’s Mike Giardi noted there are “more eyes on Vrabel than ever before, wondering what happens next.” Giardi: “Can the men and women at One Patriot Place, who depend on him, trust him to be what he was last year, and what they need him to be going forward?” This clearly is a “self-inflicted wound, punctuated by many others from the shoddy handling of the situation” (BOSTON SPORTS JOURNAL, 4/23).
CREDIBILITY CRISIS: In Boston, Tara Sullivan wrote the Patriots “have to know they have a credibility problem on their hands.” The questions “continue to multiply rather than disappear, no matter how many PR wheels they try to spin.” This is also a “personnel matter” for the team, involving “professional image and accountability” (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/23). Meanwhile, also in Boston, Dan Shaughnessy writes “manipulating Vrabel’s first media availability to assure that few reporters would attend on Tuesday was weak sauce.” The team “wanted to ease its coach’s burden when he finally decided to take questions, but that’s not going to work moving forward.” The Patriots are “experienced at crisis management, and they have broomed dozens of embarrassments.” Shaughnessy: “This one seems to be getting away from them” (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/24).
MEDIA AVOIDING THE SUBJECT: In Chicago, Jeff Agrest noted Rich Eisen addressed the matter early on during Thursday’s episode of his self-titled ESPN show, “evasively hemming and hawing for three minutes.” Eisen said, “I have avoided talking about this subject matter because it involves two consenting, married adults and what they were doing in their spare time with each other, allegedly.” Agrest noted it was another example of NFL media types “treating a consequential story not with kid gloves but by not touching it at all.” Because both Vrabel and Russini are “well-liked in NFL circles, they’re being protected by their media colleagues.” Agrest: “Eisen was right to say ‘professionalism’ is at stake. That includes his. He lacked it by avoiding the subject.” Meanwhile, ESPN’s website “didn’t include Vrabel’s upcoming absence among it’s ‘Top Headlines’ on Thursday afternoon.” Agrest: “The NFL Coach of the Year missing eight picks during the draft should qualify as a top headline all day” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 4/23).
