A former NFL star admitted this week that a Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini like situation ‘keeps happening all the time’, further adding that fans should not take this ‘too seriously’. This comes weeks after PageSix first published photos of the Patriots coach and NFL reporter holding hands and hugging at a Sedona, Arizona resort. Publications later found pictures of the two in a New York club and on a cruise. Witnesses even said that they were spotted ‘kissing’.
Both Vrabel and Russini are married, separately, with children.
Chad Johnson weighs in
As Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini faced criticism, Cincinnati Bengals legend Chad Johnson, popularly known as Ochocinco, suggested that scandals involving relationships and personal drama are far more common in professional football than many fans realize.
“We’ve been in this lifestyle so much, we’ve seen so many situations, so many cases, even some that weren’t made public or we knew about it behind closed doors,” Johnson said while discussing the controversy.
“But we’ve situations like this so much, so often. To others, the regular folk are like, ‘Oh My God, what is going on? This needs to be talked about.’ And I’m thinking like it’s normal.”
Mike Vrabel not in the firing line
Johnson made it clear he believes many people within football circles do not view the situation as shocking. He even revealed that some fans criticized him for not spending more time discussing the scandal publicly.
“Someone was mad at me because we didn’t talk about it on the podcast,” Johnson said, describing the controversy as “huge” in the eyes of fans.
“No, it’s not. This s**t happens all the time.”
Asante Samuel also weighed in
Johnson is not the only former NFL player to downplay the controversy.
Earlier this offseason, former Super Bowl champion Asante Samuel also addressed the situation and implied that similar arrangements or understandings are not unusual in professional sports environments.
“It’s all about understanding,” Samuel said.
“Don’t show it in my face. Don’t let the public know what’s going on. When the public gets a hold of anything that they think can go viral, man, your a** is grass.”
NFL appears unlikely to intervene
Despite the nonstop attention surrounding the story, there has been no indication that the NFL plans to formally investigate the matter.
Reports have also suggested the league did not object to teams referencing the controversy in schedule release videos this offseason.
The Los Angeles Chargers became the only franchise to make a direct reference to the Vrabel-Russini situation in their viral schedule release content.
