Days after The Athletic’s now former senior NFL reporter Dianna Russini resigned over intimate photos showing her canoodling with Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at an exclusive resort in Arizona, the NFL has announced that Vrabel will not be investigated for his role in the alleged affair.
According to a report from ESPN, an NFL spokesman revealed that Vrabel will not face any punishment or discipline under the league’s personal conduct policy. The policy, which covers the actions of coaches and players, gives the league the right to look into any situation where an employee displays conduct “detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the National Football League.”
When asked about Vrabel’s activities within the organization in the lead-up to this week’s draft, Patriots General Manager Eliot Wolf replied, “Business as usual.”
Vrabel, the former Super Bowl champ-turned head coach, was caught by cameras with The Athletic’s NFL reporter Diana Russini in a hot tub at an exclusive Arizona resort last month, according to Page Six.
For Vrabel’s part, he describes his relationship with Russini as nonsexual.
“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” Vrabel told Page Six. “This doesn’t deserve any further response.”
Russini explained the meet-up with Vrabel in a similar way.
“The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day,” Russini told Page Six. “Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”
That explanation did not wash with Russini’s employer, The Athletic, who conducted their own investigation into the incident, which, at the very least, did not convince them that Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was altogether innocent.
Russini posted her resignation from The Athletic soon after the investigation was concluded.
Vrabel has not spoken to the media in weeks since the pictures of him and Russini were published. Of course, with the draft coming up this week, Vrabel will appear before cameras and microphones at some point.
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