Pat McAfee swept into Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini’s Sedona hotel scandal

Okay. Now this is going backward and scrutinizing every move around the Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini’s alleged Sedona scandal.

49ers Talk host Tony Farmer is curious. He wants to know: “Why the hell isn’t Pat McAfee talking about Mike Vrabel? Why the hell isn’t Pat McAfee talking about Dianna Russini?”

Former NFL All-Pro punter Pat McAfee dragged into Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini scandal

After throwing out this question into the air, sports betting analyst Tony Farmer said he spoke to two sources who were present in Biltmore, Arizona, at the NFL reception. This event happened after the Sedona pictures were taken.

Now, one of those sources told Tony Farmer that “Mike Vrabel was in a very boisterous mood, and he sort of bear-hug/roughhoused an NFL executive, like kind of like you might with, like a guy might with a bro like, ‘Hey, what’s going on buddy?’ Kind of lifted him up off the ground a tiny, tiny bit.”

When Farmer asked the source if that executive was an AFC or NFC executive, the source said, “AFC executive, not a [New England] Patriots executive.” Then, when Tony Farmer asked the other source about this, the source said, “No, I didn’t see that. But I saw what you just described with Pat McAfee all night long.”

Then comes Tony Farmer’s observation: “This is interesting because I’ve been on Twitter saying, ‘Why the hell isn’t Pat McAfee talking about Mike Vrabel? Why the hell isn’t Pat McAfee talking about Dianna Russini?’” How did the X users react to this?

X users stand up for Pat McAfee

One user said, “brother, who gives a f**k? Football fans DO NOT CARE.” Another post read, “This guy is obsessed with The Vrabel/Russini story which is cool! But he is hell bent on adding others into it like ESPN & McAfee,” to which Tony Farmer replied, “hell bent? Obsessed? I dont think you know me well.”

One user commented, "[Pat McAfee] knew but playing stupid." Another wrote, "Some sports shows have chosen to not go the TMZ route."

A post read, "It's easy to figure out. ESPN won't let them because they don't want it talked about on their network." Another user said, "Pat isn't a journalist so I don't think he's obligated to cover it more than the jokes he throws to Boston Conner about it."

A user defended Pat McAfee, saying, "This is still real life, pal. They are friends. If you would talk about your friends personal life on air then you are a sc**b*g."

Another commented, "McAfee is good friends with Russini. She helped him out in the early pod days with content during the offseason. He's publicly stated more than once that she carried them through some rough times." A third user urged, "Leave the guy alone. Personal lives should remain personal." A fourth user speculated, "The NFL and ESPN bought Pat's show to keep him in check, they own him."

A fan declared, “Pat never does dirty laundry. He understands that this is a family matter that is none his or anyone else’s,” when Tony Farmer shared a 2025 NBC News article link involving Pat McAfee.

Pat McAfee issued public apology for amplifying false rumor

In July 2025, NBC News’ Doha Madani and Tom Llamas reported that ESPN host Pat McAfee issued a public apology to a University of Mississippi student after he amplified a “false rumor” about her that she said “ruined” her life.

The false rumor claimed that an Ole Miss student had allegedly slept with her boyfriend’s father. The rumor began spreading on YikYak, an anonymous social media platform popular among college students. And McAfee referred to it during one of his February 2025 shows.

In July 2025, Pat McAfee learned that the story was untrue and the anguish it had caused the student. “I can now happily share with you that I recently got to meet Mary Kate [Cornett] and her family,” McAfee said. “And I got a chance to sincerely apologize to them and acknowledge that what I said about Mary Kate was based solely on what others were saying on the internet.

And I’m thankful that they gave me the opportunity to tell them how sorry I was that this all happened and that our show was a part of this. I deeply regret the pain that was caused.”

Probably, Pat McAfee knows the extent of damage the alleged Sedona photos have caused both Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini. Probably Pat McAfee does not want to say “what others are saying on the internet” about Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel.

Probably Pat McAfee is just plain respecting their respective privacies. This is not a trivial matter; it is a disturbing one for both of them, and it concerns anyone and everyone around them.

Former NFL player Pat McAfee reportedly talks about Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel without mentioning them

In the latest episode of The Pat McAfee Show, Pat McAfee spoke to the Kansas City Chiefs general manager, Brett Veach. Podcaster Farzin Vousoughian shared a clip from McAfee's conversation with Veach on X. McAfee probably spoke about Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel's situation without mentioning their names. He said, "They're taking pictures everywhere."

Here's what else he said:

"Everything's known now," said Pat McAfee. "Everything's known about everything. If you were to get a beer with somebody, we would know it. Like immediately, somebody's posting a picture of it saying...hey, they're taking pictures everywhere, by the way. Okay, you know that. Okay, everywhere, everywhere, everywhere.

Okay, so we know everything at all times about everything is what the world is now. And I like that you're using that as a way to kind of hold leverage and still gamesmanship. I respect it. When [Los Angeles Rams GM] Les Snead said I liked it, when you said it, I liked it."

Throwback to when Pat McAfee reacted to Dianna Russini's departure from ESPN

"Dianna Russini...a senior NFL insider who went to The Athletic, which? That was a shame," Pat McAfee said in Sept. 2023. "Literally, we go, we signed ESPN, [and] one of the first days that we have access to any ESPN talent, we're like, 'Can we get Dianna Russini on, please?'

She comes on the show. Thought it was great. Because there was a couple times during COVID where Dianna Russini carried us for a couple months with all her news that she was breaking.

We were pumped to be teammates with her. And then all of a sudden, boom, [she] goes to The Athletic. Well, congrats The Athletic on getting an absolute dawg in the insider game."
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