For the second time in four years, Boston Sports has been rocked by an alleged cheating scandal, both after falling short in a championship game/series. First, it was Ime Udoka, who was subsequently suspended and ultimately released by the Boston Celtics.
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Now, it's New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel. The who scenario began when Page Six released photographs of Vrabel and Dianna Russini of the New York Times and The Athletic sitting in bathing suits by a pool. Other images also showed the couple holding hands.
Vrabel has now clapped back at any claims of wrongdoing.
"These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable," Vrabel told the New York Post. "This doesn't deserve any further response."
Interestingly, the Patriots head coach isn't the only one to come out swinging at the accusations that have followed since the images were made public.
"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."
The Athletic has also moved to dispel the narrative that came with the release of those pictures.
"These photos are misleading and lack essential context," Steven Ginsberg of The Athletic, explained. "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."
Mike Vrabel Has Been Married Since 1999
According to Town & Country, Vrabel has been married to his wife, Jennifer, since 1999. They have two children together, Tyler and Carter.
The couple reportedly met during their time at Ohio State University, where they were both student athletes. Jennifer played for the college's women's volleyball team for three years between 1993 and 1996.
Mike and Jennifer have even given back to Ohio State, donating $75,000 to a renovation project back in 2006.
"Ohio State has had a great impact on the lives of my wife and me," Mike wrote when making the donation. "The more we talked about it, the more obvious it became the right thing to do."
Hopefully, this story is proven to be nothing more than wrong place and wrong time, and both Vrabel and Russini can get back to their everyday lives as soon as possible.
