Photos of Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini interlacing their fingers together at a luxury hotel has spawned a social media trend poking fun at their interaction.
Page Six exclusively obtained photos of the New England Patriots head coach and the top NFL reporter holding hands and hugging two weekends ago at the Ambiente in Sedona, Arizona. Vrabel told us the interaction was “completely innocent,” while Russini told us they were in a group of six people “hanging out during the day.”
Barstool Sports’ “The Yak” podcast hosts Big Cat and Kate hilariously interlocked their fingers for an outdoor picture to recreate Vrabel and Russini’s pose on Wednesday’s episode.
“See, that’s like normal,” Big Cat joked. “That’s totally normal. What the f–k, guys.”
“We do this all the time,” he added, while Kate cracked, “That’s two friends talking ball.”
Big Cat explained the photos to their fellow podcast hosts, sharing that he and Kate wanted to test out the pose for themselves to see if it felt awkward, and admitted it felt “weird.”
“It’s tough,” Kate commented.
They also copied the pose while sitting at a desk and looking at each other.
Big Cat also joked on X, “Sometimes you end up on a private rooftop in a beautiful setting with interlocked fingers. Just friends interlocking fingers. I interlock with my boys all the time. Hey wanna lock up real quick? S—t like that. Normal things of that nature.”
Writer and producer Mark Blutman also interlaced his fingers with actor Jerry O’Connell for a funny pic, sharing on X, “New socially accepted intimate behavior between friends has been unlocked. People free to finger lock without shame.”
Social media has been poking fun at the viral photos of Vrabel and Russini, with one X user joking, “She was probably explaining some new age crystal bulls—t or Vrabel was maybe demonstrating pass blocking techniques this is a perfectly normal interaction.”
A Page Six spy told us that the pair — both married to other people — had breakfast on the patio of the hotel restaurant around 10:30 a.m. on March 28 before spending a leisurely hour or so together at the pool and lounging side-by-side in a hot tub.
Photos show the two hugging at sunset on a private rooftop of one of the hotel’s bungalows, and interlocking their fingers together as they stood face-to-face. The spy said they saw the pair briefly dance together.
Three other eyewitnesses told us that they did not see anyone else with Vrabel, 50, and Russini, 43.
But in a statement Vrabel told us: “These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable. This doesn’t deserve any further response.”
And Russini said: “The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day. Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”
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