As the never-ending saga stemming from viral photos capturing New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini embracing at a resort in Sedona, Arizona, ahead of this year’s annual league meeting rolls on, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio recently considered the possible fallout.
One day after The Athletic backtracked from an initial statement of support and sidelined Russini amid a probe into the situation, Florio wrote about whether Vrabel could eventually be subjected to discipline.
While noting a clear double standard exists based on each’s job, Florio cautioned that “none of that means Vrabel is in the clear.”
Could “Poolgate” involve discipline for Mike Vrabel?
As Florio writes, one example of a potential conflict would be a violation of the league’s tampering rules.
“If (and this is only an example, not an accusation) Vrabel was affirmatively using Russini to agitate for an A.J. Brown trade with the Eagles on the most favorable terms possible to the Patriots, the tampering rule could potentially apply,” Florio wrote.
In another non-accusatory example, Florio noted that if “Russini was sharing material, non-public information harvested from other teams with Vrabel at his request, that could be a separate problem.”
Florio also pointed to possible discipline based on the league’s personal conduct policy, which makes note of “Conduct that undermines or puts at risk the integrity of the NFL, NFL Clubs or NFL personnel.”
When photos of Russini and Vrabel, which were first shipped to multiple outlets, were published by the New York Post, The Athletic executive editor Steven Ginsberg initially stood by his reporter.
“These photos are misleading and lack essential context,” Ginsberg wrote. “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.”
Russini and Vrabel also downplayed the photographs, with Russini telling The Post, “The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day. Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”
“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” added Vrabel. “This doesn’t deserve any further response.”
Depending on what The Athletic’s internal investigation uncovers, Vrabel may still have to answer for the situation. Regardless, instead of going quietly, “Poolgate” has become one of the top stories of the offseason. Whether it’s consequential enough for Vrabel to receive any type of discipline from the NFL or the Patriots has yet to be determined.