New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has finally broken his silence about the photo scandal with coach Mike Vrabel and sportswriter Deanna Russini.
“Yeah, we’re here for the coach, we love the coach,” the athlete told Boston’s WHDH-TV 7News on Wednesday. “Words can’t express what he’s done for us, what he’s done for us this past year, and we’re just so grateful to have him as our head coach.”
May, 23, said he knows Vrabel is “dealing with issues off the field and outside of the coaching world,” but added that he and his teammates “are here for him.”
“I know he’ll be back,” he said.
The NFL star’s comments come nearly a month after Page Six published exclusive photos of Vrabel, 50, and Russini, 43, holding hands and embracing each other at a luxury resort in Sedona, Arizona.
The coach and sportscaster, both married to other people, maintained that other friends were also present at the resort, even though multiple witnesses disputed their claims.
“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable and deserves no further response,” Vrabel told Us in a statement at the time.
In his statement, Russini said, “The photo does not represent the group of six people hanging out together during the day. Like most NFL journalists, our reporters interacted with sources away from the stadium and other venues.”
Despite their denials, Russini was removed from The New York Times and subsequently resigned from his position as senior NFL insider at The Athletic.
Meanwhile, Vrabel announced that he will not commit to the team on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft in order to focus on his family and personal issues and seek counseling.
The next day, Page Six published a photo of Vrabel and Russini cozying up in a dimly lit New York City bar in 2020, six years before they hit the Arizona resort.
“They were kissing and crazy about each other,” an eyewitness told Page Six. “He was wearing a ring.”
At the time, Mike was already married to his wife, Jen Vrabel, and Russini was planning to say “I do” to her now-husband, Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt, just six months later.
After the latest photo was published, Russini deleted her social media accounts.
Page Six also exclusively reported that the photo prompted Mike and his wife Jen to hold a 24-hour impromptu marriage summit in Park City, Utah.
Mike and Russini have two children with their respective spouses.
