Crisis-communication specialist Molly McPherson analyzes Mike Vrabel's statement after a scandal involving reporter Diana Rossini. The Patriots tried four containment steps: killing the story, denial, distraction with AJ Brown, and Rossini's resignation. McPherson says Vrabel's "non-denial denial" and the botched PR operation will damage trust for years.
Mike Vrabel said he's moving on. That's cool. But the story isn't. Here's why. This isn't just a PR story or a leadership story. It's a containment story with a strategy that collapsed in 4 stages. Stage 1, kill the story. Reports said Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, tried to kill the story that was published in the New York Post. Not only was the story not killed, It spread. Stage 2, Rabel comes out and tries to kill the story again with a line saying that it would be laughable if anyone thought this was a real story. He and Diana Rossini both used deflection and delegation to say that they were with friends. Technically, they probably were with each other. Stage 3, let the news cycle do the heavy lifting. The AJ Brown story was supposed to be the pivot that was taking the oxygen out of the Diana Rossini story. It didn't because the story kept climbing because the photos were real. Diana Rossini resigned. The audience knew the first denial from both of them did not add up. The crisis team had run out of time. They ran 4 plays in the book and none of them worked. They weren't managing a story, they were managing a collapse, which is why the statement sounds like it did. But I wanted to, one, just address this and thank you for your patience in dealing with the private and personal matter. Thank you. And why Mike Vrabel, when he was saying the words, was looking down the entire time. It was a non-denial denial. But here is the true test. Imagine you're Mike Vrabel coming home to Mrs. Vrabel. The story's published in the New York Post. She wants answers and he says, this is a private matter. The crisis team was trying to make a story go away, but Mike Vrabel was overshadowing his players and he was overshadowing the the draft. Because audiences can tell the difference between a coach trying to find the right words to say compared to a coach who's struggling with saying the words he's been coached to say. Vrabel's delivery, looking down, the ums, the fragments, the shame— it was meant to project authenticity while maintaining full deniability. There's so many problems with this PR operation from the beginning. Russini was indignant in her resignation letter, and now Mike Vrabel is saying it's a private matter. They didn't coordinate again. Will everyone still be talking about the story 3 months from now? No, they won't. But anytime something happens with Mike Vrabel, it's going to stick with him. There's going to be a trust issue. The Patriots have been trying to get away from the blanking Blindgate forever because they don't want to be labeled as cheaters. But now this is where I would have gone. The photos published last week were real. They reflect a relationship that I should not have been in while leading this team. I've apologized to my family, to my wife, to this organization, and everyone affected. I understand the questions about my judgment, and I accept them. I'm here to earn back your trust in how I coach and how I conduct myself. And that starts right now. Hits the podium right now. Because the core problem with Vrabel's statement, it was designed to protect him. His statement should have been designed to protect the reputation of the entire organization and him as the coach of that organization. Trust is currency. When you lose it, it is so difficult to get it back.
