Over the past couple of weeks, the Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini situation has engulfed the world of sports media. The serious conflict of interest has sports properties afraid to dive deeply into the situation, with no one wanting to get in trouble for discussing the intricacies of such a delicate topic. However, that hasn’t completely stopped NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk from talking about the implications.
Mike Florio Reveals Reality of Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini Situation’s Coverage
Last month, when discussing the scandal, Pro Football Talk co-host Chris Simms led viewers to believe there was talk among other coaches and their wives about the ordeal.
“It’s the biggest story in the NFL,” Simms said. “I’d shoot you straight. These are things that I’ve been texting with my friends in the coaching world, even their wives are involved in the conversations.”
Florio, not sure what Simms would say next and wanting to protect him from saying anything damaging, told him to “Be careful. Stay on target… There’s a lot there, and there’s only so much that is reported and known.”
Though Florio’s cut-off of Simms’ comments seemed sharp, it was definitely the right move. If Simms had shared the thoughts of other NFL coaches and their wives about the situation, it would’ve created a whole other angle to the story, drawing further attention and throwing fuel on the fire.
Speaking with Michael Holley on Pro Football Talk, Florio revealed why he interrupted Simms from going deep into the topic. He also clarified that he isn’t afraid to cover the story.
“We’re just talking about the story here, not enough people are,” Florio said. “A lot of people are afraid of it. It’s so funny that the jabronious aggregators think that I’m afraid to talk about it all because I tried to keep Chris (Simms) from deviating from the known, vetted, and reported facts when we talked about it for the very first time because they didn’t want to say anything that was going to get him in any trouble. I didn’t know what he was going to say, so I said to stay on target.”
The story has remained hot during this period of the NFL offseason, with a person hounding Vrabel at the Salt Lake City airport last Saturday, aggressively asking him questions about the situation in a video later obtained by TMZ.
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Vrabel was on his way back to New England from attending a counseling trip regarding his actions, which forced him to miss day three of the NFL Draft.
While the offseason endures, this story could continue to linger if similar clips about it go viral or new information comes to light.
