The last episode of Torre focuses on the never-ending scandal that first surfaced 17 days ago: the photos of Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and reporter Dianna Russini, formerly of ESPN and The Athletic.
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If Torre took a while to arrive, it’s understandable. Your relationship with Meadowlark Media and The Athletic makes it delicate, to say the least. Meadowlark Media’s Dan LeBatard has openly said he doesn’t want to talk about the situation because Russini is a friend. AND The Athletic is neck-deep in this pit of quicksand, especially since he expressed his clear and unequivocal support for Russini in his first comments on the matter. (Torre at one point includes a disclaimer explaining that the opinions expressed are his alone.)
Torre adds an interesting fact to the story. While Fox’s Jay Glazer was hosting the annual poolside “drink day” at the Biltmore complex in Arizona, where the league meetings were held, Russini was trying to organize a competitive event, with Vrabel.
“Two sources with direct knowledge of this have confirmed this to me,” Torre said. “So that group, where Jay Glazer was hosting all these NFL head coaches and others. On the other side of that same group were Diana Russini and Mike Vrabel. And what she was doing, I was told, was effectively trying to host a rival. Office Christmas party. . . . It was Diane Russini. “There was Mike Vrabel, between the cabins, and some other head coaches.”
The situation generated many surprises.
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“I was told that all these head coaches on the other side of the pool and their wives started talking about Vrabel and Russini. And this was before, days before the photos appeared in the New York Post” Torre said, “I mean, one thing I discovered is that their friendship wasn’t breaking news to people at NFL owners’ meetings. “Everyone knew that they were, in fact, together in front of this other competing aspirational party.”
Given the other events that have emerged in recent days, this news will not have the same impact as, say, the Thursday March 2020 photos of the New York Post. But it’s another new snippet of facts for a story that has generated a lot since the original publication of the photos and strong denials from everyone involved.