Dianna Russini, an NFL reporter for The Athletic, resigned from the sports website on Tuesday.
Russini, who has worked at The Athletic since 2023, submitted her letter of resignation nearly a week after photographs were published showing her and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel holding hands, hugging and sitting in a hot tub at an Arizona resort.
The photos, published by the New York Post, showed the pair at the Sedona hotel. The newspaper claimed they were taken before the NFL meetings convened in Phoenix on March 29, according to ESPN.
The photographs led to an internal investigation by The Athletic, which is owned by The New York Times Company.
“I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published,” Russini wrote in a resignation letter to Steven Ginsberg, the executive editor of The Athletic, which she also posted on social media. “When the Page Six item first appeared, The Athletic supported me unequivocally, expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism. For that I am grateful. In the days that followed, unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.
“Moreover, this media frenzy is hurtling forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is trying to complete. It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept.”
Russini prefaced her social media post by stating, “Everything I have to say about it is below.”
Before joining The Athletic, Russini spent a decade at ESPN and also worked for NBC. She was a “SportsCenter” anchor, an NFL analyst and insider.
Russini’s position at The Athletic was Senior NFL Insider, and she also hosted a podcast for the website. She also made video appearances for the sports news outlet, ESPN reported.
When the photos were published, both Russini and Vrabel, who are both married, sent separate statements to the Post downplaying them, adding that the newspaper did not provide any context. They both denied allegations of an inappropriate relationship, The Athletic reported.
Russini said the photos “don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day,” the AP reported.
Vrabel told the Post that the photos “show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable.”
Ginsberg also issued a statement supporting Russini, telling the Post that the photos were “misleading” and lacked “essential context.”
“These were public interactions in front of many people,” Ginsberg said. “Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we’re proud to have her at The Athletic.”
Ginsberg wrote a note to The Athletic staff on Tuesday announcing Russini’s resignation.
“When this situation was brought to our attention last week, there were clear concerns, but we received a detailed explanation and it was our instinct to support and defend a colleague while we continued to review the matter,” he wrote, according to The Athletic.
Vrabel did not attend New England’s predraft news conference on Monday, the AP reported.
He won three Super Bowls as a player with New England; in his first season as the Patriots’ head coach, he led the team to a 14-3 regular season and a Super Bowl berth. The Patriots lost Super Bowl LX to the Seattle Seahawks, falling 29-13.
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