Heay of folks.
It is Tuesday, April twenty first, and he has finally spoken to the New England Patriots head coach Mike Rabel.
Has just made his first.
Comments since that firestorm, since that tabloid story exploded with pictures of him and an NFL reporter who was not his wife being with that. Welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Folks know this story by now. Robes, Diana Rossini is a person he was seen when pictures with She has since resigned from the Athletic, but everybody was waiting to hear from him. We just heard from him at a press conference, made comments with about three minutes.
I am particular. Robes asked, you don't tell me When I said, what did you think of what you just heard from him? And I actually don't know your answer, just your impression first of all, of what he said.
I just think that it is a glaring example of a double standard where look, I understand they were in different roles, that Diana Rossini was a porter, a journalist working for a very reputable sports organization, the Athletic, which is owned by the New York Times, and there are ways of operating and she it seems at least had the appearance of violating those standards, and so she resigned. Mike Rabel is not being investigated. No one is looking
into any misconduct. We don't know what's going on in his personal life. But it seemed as though all he had to deal with was his personal stuff and that is what he acknowledged without giving any specifics, and apologize for any distractions and moved on and went about his business of being the head coach of the New England Patriots, end of story. It's almost as if I saw him just kind of go, yep, let me just acknowledge this
and then move on. And look, maybe that's fair given each of their positions, but it doesn't seem like it is.
I don't think she should have resigned, is where I'll start. So to your point about a double standard, that's fine. I don't see it as a double standard as a man woman and people will see it as a double standard that I do understand. The double standard could be argued having to do with her and how other male journalists behave. It shouldn't be a comparison, in my opinion, between her as a journalist compared with him as a coach.
They got guys with criminal records playing football every damn Sunday. Don't tell me this now. It makes them look bad. He brought a bad reputation onto the team, which he acknowledged, and we're gonna let you hear him. We're going to play it for you here in a moment. But for me, Ropes, he didn't. I never saw this as a double standard
that some talked about between him and her. The double standard is her and every other possible journalist, which is overwhelmingly male dominated in the sports field where she works, don't have a direct comparison with anybody else's situation. But he, yes, they are held to a different standard in the NFL.
Look, and I get that, and I acknowledge that, and I hear what you're saying.
The fairer compare would be.
Comparing Diana Rossini with her male counterpart makes total sense. It's just it's overwhelming the difference between the two in terms of what the professional repercussions were. And I'm sure she knew that going into it, and he knows that going into it. She, of all people who covers sports and covers the NFL, understands that there is a much different standard in play than there is for someone who
is an operating journalist. That I totally acknowledge that, but still it just seems it just seems unfair.
Oh, I thought it was unfair that she lost her job. I am saying, none of this is any of our business. Now, it's okay to speak on it now, in my opinion, because they did both address it. They did both say something. She put on a long letter resigning, so that brought it up to a level where it was a different story. But rhaps other than that, I don't know what's going on. Is his house in her house, with their marriages, with
their backgrounds, with their understand I don't know. I don't look at any of this in the pictures that I saw robes, And yes, we have some experience, if you will, not just our personal but seeing other people's stories robes and how they've been handling people, jumping to conclusions and not understanding. Yes, these two could be up to know whatever.
Good.
That's not for me to say. It's for her husband and his wife and coach and the reporter. It's their thing. So now this next thing has happened in robes. The one thing that did not come out come out of his mouth was I'm sorry. The thing that didn't come out of his mouth is I apologize.
And he also didn't make any acknowledgments either way. He didn't deny any untoward relationship. He didn't deny anything improper happening between him and Diana Rossini. He thanked reporters who had gathered there for their patients in waiting for him
to make any sort of remarks. But I'm curious what you think about the difference between his initial statement when the pictures prefer revealed, where he basically said, I don't need to make another statement, this is laughable, to where he was today thanking journalists for their patients and acknowledging that he's had difficult conversations with his family.
Those two things don't obviously line up. We can jump to any conclusion we want, but those things are laid out and clear. If he was not involved in not doing anything wrong, he would have said that in the first statement. He would have said in this one, guys, I know this looked bad, but let me tell you what happened and what was going on and the reason we were this, and knock yourself out. He didn't do that.
He chose not to what he has done. Now Rose is left as in a position to where I said, I'll almost say about it next question, for all for all time. This is done because he said, I talked to the people who are important to talk to, my team, my coaches, my organization.
And look, you're somebody who knows how the sports world operates, probably more than I do, just because you're immersed in it in a way I haven't been.
Did he need to even say anything? Did he even go further than.
He had to? No?
He Maybe I would argue you should have gone a little further, but I would say he did what he needed to do, and the reason he had to do it, Robes is the damn NFL Draft is on Thursday. And if folks you don't, yes you hear about the draft, you see it's a big TV event, Robes, this is the most important time other than the super Bowl for the NFL.
It's that big of a deal.
They are forming their teams that are going to carry them to the next super Bowl in two years, five years. You are building your franchise. It's an event. It's a three day event. They do it in Pittsburgh Now Robes, it is a cute show. You cannot have this be top of mind and everybody waiting to chase him around, or his players around, or the owner around to ask about Rabel. So he had to say something, and he had to do it like this. But what he's essentially
done in Robes to say shut up? I said all I'm to say, and I've already what he told you, so don't waste your time.
So that's my next question. Does this stop reporters? I don't know what the level of decorum is among reporters. Yes, and this head coach, this storied winning head coach, will they respect his request?
Yes?
Wow, they want access for the entire season. They're gonna be good, They're gonna go to the playoffs. You need a good relationship not just with the coach, with the players, with the organization. Don't piss them off. You're gonna lose your access. Now sixty minutes sits down with them. All bets are off. But in his day to day and the folks that are in that room, I can't imagine who's gonna take him to task for this. And as a pr person standing by going next question, they did.
This was Azy Fudd the other day, the number one draft pick of the Yukon. One of the reporters asked her about her relationship with Paige Becker's The two were dating at Yukon. Page is now working or playing for the team that Azy just got recruited, just got drafted to.
Asked her a question about her relationship.
Reporter or excuse me, The PR person jumped in, no, you have to ask that, but we're gonna shut this down. You're not allowed. They can tell you to shut up. We are not gonna allow you to ask our athlete, our coach anything. This is done for him. Wow, bros, it's done. It's over. Said what I'm gonna say Now. I don't know what's going on at his house, but this is what's going on. At least this is what he told us. So I'm gonna set this up. Robes, you heard this as well. The part we're gonna let
you here, folks, we're gonna play. It's about a minute long. But he talked initially just saying, hey, I addressed my players yesterday. I talked to them. I got ahead of them. I didn't want them to have to come out here and answer questions blah blahlah blah, and so we pick it up robes where you could tell he was about to transition to the difficult stuff. So at the beginning of this sound by you hear him take a very
big sigh. So that's what you're gonna hear. But this is coach Mike Rabol making his first comments since this whole thing went down.
Team.
With that being said, you know, I've had some differicult conversations with people that I care about, with my family, the organization, the coaches, the players, those have been positive and productive. We believe in order to be successful on and off the field, you have to make good decisions.
That includes me. That starts with me.
We never want our actions to negatively affect affect the team. We never want to be the cause of a distraction, you know. And what I know those are comments and questions that I've answered for the team and with the team. Will keep those private, and you know, to ourselves care deeply about this football team and I'm excited to coach them.
I also know that I'm going to attack each day with humility and focus.
And what I can promise you is that my family, this organization the team, the staff, the coaches, everybody are fans most importantly, will get the best version of me going forward.
You notice he said family is well going to get the best version of me going forward.
The best version of me going forward.
I'm curious by him saying that you have to be or in order to be successful on the field, you have to make good decisions on and off the field. Was that his way of acknowledging he made a bad decision.
Sorry, you combine that with the best version of me. That's what people say after they mess up. That's what people say after they get caught and they say I'm sorry, and then they say, but moving forward. I mean, people have done this in relationships when they screw up. I'm sorry, But moving forward, you're going to get the best for pros. That is as close as he's getting to admitting that he did wrong.
Those without saying he's sorry.
Out saying it. That's as close as he's going to get. That's the best you're going to get from Mike Vabel. Everybody's moving on. I will be surprised if you hear any leaks coming out of that locker room about this is what he said, and this is what we thought, and this is what the team.
I would be surprised to even to hear that.
That was my next question to you, because again, you know sports culture in a way I do not. You know locker rooms in a way I do not. That just seems unthinkable to me. I can't think of another organization where you would have something potentially this scandalous and you have the goods, you have the information, you know what he said, you know what he didn't say, and you don't tell anyone because with any of these players even told their girlfriend or their wives, and they told their friend.
This is how things get out.
This is not a newsroom. I would be really surprised if we get some big headline. Everybody's after it right now, TMZ and the like. Everybody's trying to get some little nugget, little detail to have some headline. I would be surprised. But stay here with us, folks. Yes, we're finally doing a whole episode Robes. We've done a couple of episodes on this. This is the most we've talked about Coach
rabel in any of them. We've been talking about Diana Russini, the reporter involved, and also another young lady who has also now lost her job. Stay here, we'll remind you of the other fallout in this story. All right, we continue here on Amy and TJ Robes. I isn't it. We've said this. We did one of these episodes and at the end of it, I mean we did twenty twenty five minutes, and in the twenty second minute we looked at each other and.
Said, how we even mentioned coach raybel.
Yeah, and so I guess that's my point. When you hear him just kind of and I don't want to say flippantly, but it wasn't an apology tour. It didn't seem as if he were. He didn't seem like he was in pain or that he had any sort of remorse. He just was matter of factly like, yep, talk to my friends and family and my players.
We're done here, moving on, you'll get the best version of me. Next question.
Meantime, you have two women who've lost their jobs amidst this scandal.
One of them voluntarily resigned, the other got fired. Chrissy Freud I believe is her name, USA today a sports reporter who put up what's the best uh, what's the best way to describe the the tweet she put out, right, you.
Had a girl to me, she kicked her when Diana Rossini was down, kind of saying, yeah, we knew this about you all along. Don't let the door hit you on in the ass on your way out, just basically cheering celebrating the fact that Rassini resigned. She claimed, Oh, you just resigned because you were about to be fired, so just took an opportunity to take a low blow and a mean shot at her publicly, and then she ended up losing her job.
In doing so. Hey, Ann, that was that one was just I don't mind her being fired at all.
That one, that one I actually do not mind at all because she didn't.
Need to jump in, she didn't need to say anything.
No good came out of what she put out in the world. We've always said this, and we all have to be reminded, but look it. If you aren't serving a greater good, if you aren't whatever information you're putting out, if it if it isn't helpful, if it isn't enlightening, why put it out in the world. If it's just to be mean, And that's all that was. There was no value in what she said, that's.
A tough one. I don't know.
I hate to root for support somebody. I would never support somebody being fired, if you will, But man, a suspension would have been Okay, that was just awful.
That was me all right.
Back to Rassini here, we don't know where she is going to be. She's kind of gone quiet since that letter ropes, that Resonation Nation letter that she put out. I have one last question. I didn't think about it until you said something about the double standard. What would your thought of Rabel have been had been if same pictures came out, but instead of it being Diana Russini, it was a woman nobody knew. It was a Rando,
just some random woman nobody knew. And she goes about her business, goes by, we never find out publicly who she is, she never loses a job, goes out about her life. Would you have felt so strongly about Rabel needing some kind of disciplinary action for being caught in that compromising position?
You know, that's a really interesting question, and the answer is no.
The answer is no, because.
I do believe there should be anyone who is in a public position or and is in an influential position still deserves to have a private life, and I still think people are humans and they make choices that might not bode well for their marriage or for their relationship,
but it shouldn't necessarily impact their professional life. However, I do think in this particular instance, just as much as she could be faulted for having some sort of access or some sort of inappropriate relationship that could have impacted her credibility as a journalist, which I totally get, he too could be held to a standard where he could be getting favorable coverage. He could be getting some sort of benefit from having this relationship as well that at
least could be looked into. But I see your face, and I understand, and you've pointed this out many many times, and I get it. The things that the players on his team and lots of other teams have been accused of, charged with convicted of it pales in comparison to these pictures.
I get it.
I was the idea that he is benefiting professionally, that having an affair helped him go fourteen and three and make it to the super Bowl. There is I keep going back to that standard, And yeah, there is a standard for journalist behavior that she had to adhere to. There's a standard for coach and NFL behavior that he
is supposed to adhere to. This one does not rise to the level, at least from the NFL of something that deserves not just doesn't deserve disciplinary action, it doesn't even deserve an investigation.
They're not even looking.
They're not investigating. There's look in they said, Yep, pretty much that I I do. I totally understand it when you look deeper into the organizations that each person worked for, why there was a different outcome. And again she did choose to resign, but she wasn't fired. However, it I think not to not to give Chrissy uh what's her
freud any sort of support. I do think it's probably likely she was probably pointing out something that is something many would have thought that just the pictures alone would probably have ended with her being asked to leave just because there was I think it's hard to argue that that wasn't improper, that that didn't look improper, even if it had the possibility being interpreted as improper. She he was somebody who she was supposed to have a only professional relationship.
Job policy, to your point, doesn't say You can't just can't have a relationship with somebody you're covering. You have to avoid the appearance even of a relationship or a conflict of interests. You're supposed to avoid it. Even looking like.
That pool side in a bikini with him.
That's gonna look like.
It's not a good look.
You know what that's gonna look like.
Now, if it was all good, she could have gone in You and I will have loved an opportunity to sit down and say, yeah, guys, this is all that's happening, this is what it was, this is why it looks like that, this is really what's happening. She had that opportunity, okay, to avoid a you know what, even if she had been in a more public place, right then you say
this was some private, kind of exclusive, romantic place. Romantic if she had been at a Disney World resort at a pool with him and tons of people around, I was gone. Obviously she's not trying to sneak around.
Correct, That would have looked different as well. Yes, And to your point, we would have loved. We even talked about who could sit down to do the interview with us so that we can really just put it all out there.
I'm also just curious what you think.
You may laugh at this, but I would have, and he doesn't care what I think. And maybe he doesn't care what a lot of people think because he just does his job well and that's good enough. But if Mike Rabel had come out and said, I behaved badly, I cheated on my wife. I feel terrible about it. I'm making amends with her. This is not something that the public needs to dissect or have a conversation about
because I'm handling it privately. Just know that I am deeply regretful for my choices, and I'm repairing that with my wife.
With that, I would have been like, wow, damn. I would have been impressed.
But that probably is hilarious to even imagine somebody would be willing to do that if they didn't have to.
Somebody has to do that if they're working in an industry where you need the public's support for you to continue to work in that industry. He doesn't need a damn thing but to win football games. He just came out of the Super Bowl. If they were three and thirteen last year, maybe we're having a different conversation robes they were plays away from being Super Bowl champion. So I'm saying to you, he doesn't have to do that. He doesn't need to do that. It doesn't help him
to do that at all. Now, if you're an actor, if you're a musician, if you're somebody needs people to buy tickets to your show, if you need somebody to support you, Wow, then that's different. You come out and say I am sorry, I need to make amends, and you want people on your side, sweetheart.
They're only on his side.
How big of How many big asshole coaches have you seen that still got jobs because they win?
Yeah, and then you have Sean Moore, But that was because he was having that relationship with someone who worked for him and who was under him.
They didn't want to fire him. They had to fire him, sweetheart. They fired him on the day he was being he got arrested. It was a domestic violet and there was a woman in his office. That was a different breach of trust. There we're talking about a different situation. And trust me, there was a conversation had somewhere. Is there any way we can keep this guy? And so yes, it has to rise to a left. Think about the successful coaches Robes who have gotten fired.
You're laughing right now.
It's come on.
I mean Sharon Moore would be the only one I can think of Robes.
And you remember how crazy that situation was.
It was pretty intense.
Oh it was Oh.
That they didn't have a choice. But no, and I still stand by at Robes. This is just their business.
It is.
It's their business. It's gotten out publicly. If they feel they need to say something, knock yourselves out. He's a football coach.
All right. So this is going to be put to bed.
Now, it really will. And to Vrabel is something you mentioned about. Yeah, he just looks kind of non shell. That's his demeanor. Like he didn't look any different yesterday than he does in most press conferences. He just has that kind of demeanor. He's not really an animated guy.
So there it is. And look you think about his family.
Her family, got kids involved, their communities involved, their kids going to school and parent teacher conference in the people. I'm just saying all that stuff. These families are going through something right now that deserves more than a lot of your comments. A lot of stuff that's coming at them and people making jokes and whatever, and You could say they put themselves in that position roles, but there is there are two groups of folks, families going.
Through right now.
There's a human price that they're paying. Even if it isn't public. For Mike Rabel, certainly privately he is. He's going through something, whether he shows it or not. Out of press conference.
This has been interesting to talk this out. I'm glad we didn't talk ahead of time because every time you had a response, you look at me as that okay, sports, I forgot this is sports.
It's a different world and it really is a different a different set of rules, truly, all right without everyone.
We always appreciate you listening to us. I may be a roboch alongside t. J. Holmes. We will talk to you soon.