{"id":604282,"date":"2026-04-14T21:50:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T21:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/604282\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T21:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T21:50:09","slug":"nfl-reporter-dianna-russini-resigns-from-the-athletic-after-photos-published-of-her-with-mike-vrabel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/604282\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL reporter Dianna Russini resigns from The Athletic after photos published of her with Mike Vrabel"},"content":{"rendered":"

NFL reporter Dianna Russini has resigned from The Athletic less than a week after published photos of her and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel<\/a> at an Arizona resort prompted an internal investigation at the New York Times-owned sports outlet. <\/p>\n

The New York Post last week published<\/a> the photos of Vrabel and Russini at the Sedona hotel and said they were taken before the NFL owners meetings that began in Phoenix on March 29.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published. 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,\u201d Russini said in a letter sent Tuesday to Athletic Executive Editor Steven Ginsberg and obtained by The Associated Press. <\/p>\n

\u201cMoreover, 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. Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now \u2014 before my current contract expires on June 30. I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russini joined The Athletic in 2023 after nearly a decade at ESPN, where she held various roles, including SportsCenter anchor, NFL analyst and insider. She hosted a podcast for The Athletic and made appearances on their video platform<\/p>\n

Vrabel and Russini, who are both married, released statements to the Post after publication of the photos downplaying what the photos depict.<\/p>\n

Russini said they \u201cdon\u2019t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vrabel told the newspaper: \u201cThose photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vrabel didn\u2019t attend<\/a> New England\u2019s pre-draft news conference on Monday. <\/p>\n

The New York Times reported Saturday that the digital outlet was investigating Russini\u2019s conduct.<\/p>\n

That decision came after Ginsberg previously told the Post that the photos \u201clacked essential context\u201d and lauded her work with The Athletic.<\/p>\n

Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls as a player with New England, is preparing for his second season as coach of the Patriots. He was the AP NFL Coach of the Year after leading the team to a 14-3 finish last season, which ended with a Super Bowl loss to Seattle. Vrabel previously won the AP NFL Coach of the Year award with Tennessee in 2021.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NFL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/NFL<\/a><\/p>\n

Rob Maaddi, The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NFL reporter Dianna Russini has resigned from The Athletic less than a week after published photos of her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":604283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-604282","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}