Mike Vrabel didn’t shy away from TreVeyon Henderson’s latest wave of attention.
The Patriots running back drew plenty of reaction after posting his thoughts on X about a Mass. child custody case, and Vrabel said Friday he’s fine with Henderson speaking his mind. Henderson’s post, which cited Proverbs 22:6 and criticized the state’s decision to remove a teenage child from their parents because “they refused to affirm her as a boy,” pulled in more than four million views and more than 1,000 replies.
Henderson later expanded on his view Thursday with reporters, saying his Catholic faith informs how he sees the issue and that he disagrees with the state’s decision to remove the child from the parents.
When asked Friday whether he had talked with Henderson about the post, Vrabel backed his player’s approach.
“No, I think he’s handled it as maturely - and I think he tried to explain himself,” Vrabel told reporters. “TreVeyon Henderson is a special person, a great teammate. I love being around him.
“I think he’s pretty much spoke on what he thought and what he believes, and I think that that’s impressive for him to be able to speak on it. I’ll leave it up to him.”
Vrabel’s stance was a little different back in March, when Henderson had another post on X draw attention. At the time, Henderson shared Bible verses while defending then-Chicago Bulls guard Jaden Ivey, who was waived after anti-gay comments and religious remarks he made on a livestream.
Back then, Vrabel said he wanted Henderson - and all of his players - to be able to express themselves, while also drawing a line around tolerance and education.
“I want to tell you, I love TreVeyon,” Vrabel said in March (via The Boston Globe’s Nicole Yang). “I love the person.
He cares deeply about our team. He cares deeply about his faith.
He cares deeply about his family, his wife, and the people in our building. And so, I want them to be able to express what they believe in their heart and in their mind, but also want to make sure that they’re educated, and we want to be inclusive.”
“We just want to educate them to - I’m never going to tell them how to feel - certainly want to make sure that they understand that their actions represent something more than just themselves,” Vrabel added. “I do think there’s a fine line.
We’re always talking about those kinds of things. We’re trying to educate them.
No different than myself or you guys or my kids.”
Henderson is expected to make his season debut Sunday against the Steelers after missing Week 1 with an ankle injury.
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