New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has come under heavy criticism after photos of him and NFL insider Dianna Russini circulated online.
Vrabel and Russini, who are both married, were spotted together at an Arizona hotel. Russini recently resigned from her job with The Athletic, and Vrabel held a press conference on Tuesday to address the controversy for the first time.
Now, a Boston Globe writer is calling out the Patriots’ tactics to reduce the media turnout and avoid a circus.
Patriots’ PR Strategy for Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini Controversy Comes Under Fire
Boston Globe columnist Ben Volin wrote a column that shared insights into how Vrabel’s press conference came together and why only a sparse crowd of Patriots reporters were in attendance on Tuesday.
“There is no dateline on this column about Mike Vrabel and the Patriots,” Volin wrote. “It was written from home, not Foxborough. That’s because Vrabel wasn’t on Tuesday’s media schedule released by the Patriots at 4:35 p.m. Monday. And there was no announcement Tuesday morning that Vrabel would be breaking his silence after two weeks in regard to the New York Post photos with reporter Dianna Russini at an Arizona resort.
“It was supposed to be a sleepy press conference with two veteran players talking about the start of the Patriots’ offseason program. There was a bare-bones media crowd by New England standards, with several regulars not in attendance. Those on hand were notified maybe five minutes ahead of time that Vrabel would be speaking instead of players.”
On top of that, for the reporters who were in attendance, the Patriots’ PR staff had strict ground rules, including no cameras (including phones) and no non-football questions.
“The way Tuesday’s press conference went down, with a last-minute sneak attack on the media and strict ground rules established by the Patriots, doesn’t sit right,” Volin wrote. “Though appearing transparent, the Patriots did their best to dictate the terms of Vrabel’s appearance. It cuts against Vrabel’s message of accountability.”
The Patriots could have sent a heads up on Monday night or even Tuesday morning that Vrabel would be speaking to the press.
“Instead, they purposely chose a time and method that would minimize the number of reporters asking him questions,” Volin said. “Through Tuesday afternoon, (Patriots vice president of media relations Stacey) James hadn’t responded to an e-mail asking why the Patriots didn’t let more reporters know about the press conference.
“The Patriots finally got Vrabel in front of the media, and avoided the circus. It was smartly designed and flawlessly executed — the work, perhaps, of crisis communications experts, who have emerged as the big winner of this ordeal, with many billable hours.”
While some reporters asked non-football questions any such as how Vrabel felt about Russini losing her job, the Patriots’ PR staff shifted the scrum back to football and Vrabel declined to answer.
“I respect and I appreciate every single question, but I’m not going to be able to comment on anything as it relates to that,” Vrabel said. “I appreciate your job and what you guys have to do, but I have to make my comments and what I answer about our football team.”
Volin, in his column, summed up that “the ground rules and the sneak attack on the media were bush league and hurt the sincerity of his message.”
The NFL has indicated that it is not going to investigate the matter involving Vrabel and Russini, so while this cloud will continue to hang over the Patriots, the head coach is in the clear as far as disciplinary action goes.
