Why One Coach’s Personal Life Is a Sports-Wide Scandal
Just a few months ago, the New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was experiencing a special kind of celebrity. Across the sports world, Vrabel was widely praised for becoming one of eight coaches in NFL history to take his team to the Super Bowl in his very first season as head coach. Built like an oak tree, the former linebacker (he spent eight seasons with the Patriots) is known for his no-nonsense demeanor, and has even put on football pads to mix it up with his players—all part of the tough persona that endeared him to fans. Though the Patriots lost the Super Bowl, many still believed that Vrabel was perfectly positioned to return the franchise to the upper tier of the NFL, where it has lived for the majority of the 21st century. For the past few weeks, however, Vrabel’s reputation has shifted as he’s become a fixture in the gossip pages. On April 7, the New York Post published photos of him and the NFL reporter Dianna Russini together at an Arizona resort. …
