{"id":192780,"date":"2026-04-10T22:25:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T22:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/192780\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T22:25:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T22:25:20","slug":"dianna-russini-sidelined-by-new-york-times-after-internal-investigation-into-bombshell-mike-vrabel-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/192780\/","title":{"rendered":"Dianna Russini sidelined by New York Times after internal investigation into bombshell Mike Vrabel photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Times has sidelined top NFL reporter\u00a0Dianna Russini<\/a>\u00a0after Page Six published photographs that appeared to show her\u00a0holding hands with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re told the publication is investigating the situation and \u201creviewing her coverage,\u201d and that Russini won\u2019t be reporting for the outlet while the probe is underway.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter Page Six reached out to Dianna for comment, the Athletic immediately began an investigation,\u201d a source familiar with the situation told us Friday.<\/p>\n

Dianna Russini is under investigation at the New York Times after Page Six published photos of her and Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at an Arizona hotel.<\/p>\n

The photos appeared to show the NFL reporter and Vrabel hugging at adults-only Ambiente resort in late March. \u00a9 Page SIx<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the apparent conduct in the photos raised questions for [the Athletic executive editor Steven Ginsberg] and leadership at the Athletic, an initial review suggested the images provided lacked context, specifically the presence of a larger group of friends,\u201d the source added.<\/p>\n

But \u201cnew details from the Page Six report and information from the investigation raised additional concerns that are now being reviewed further. The investigation is ongoing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Russini is the \u201csenior NFL insider\u201d for the Athletic,\u00a0the once-independent site that was acquired by the Times and now provides the paper\u2019s sports coverage.<\/p>\n

They were seen holding hands in photos. \u00a9 Page SIx<\/p>\n

Vrabel and Russini, a top NFL insider at the Athletic, were also pictured hanging out by the pool. \u00a9 Page SIx<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, we reported that Russini, 43, and Vrabel, 50, were photographed on Saturday, March 28, at the luxe Ambiente resort in Sedona, Arizona.<\/p>\n

An eyewitness told us the pair \u2014 both married to other people \u2014 had breakfast on the\u00a0patio of the hotel restaurant\u00a0before lounging side-by-side in a hot tub.<\/p>\n

The spy spotted Vrabel and Russini again that evening on the private rooftop of one of the hotel\u2019s bungalows at sunset where they\u00a0hugged at sunset, weaving their fingers together. The spy said they saw them\u00a0briefly dancing.<\/p>\n

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An eyewitness told us the pair had breakfast on the\u00a0patio of the hotel restaurant\u00a0before lounging side-by-side in a hot tub. \u00a9 Page SIx<\/p>\n

We\u2019re told the Athletic is investigating the situation and \u201creviewing\u201d her coverage\u201d (Russini above interviewing Vrabel).\u201d Dianna Russini\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Sources close to Vrabel and Russini had told us that they were at the resort, a romantic favorite for honeymooners, with four other friends who were not visible in our pictures.<\/p>\n

But three other eyewitnesses told us they did not see anyone else with the pair. Asked if the Pats coach visited the hotel with a group of friends, one eyewitness said: \u201cNo, he was with a girl.\u201d And our sequence of photographs taken at various points during the day show only Vrabel and Russini.<\/p>\n

Before Page Six published the story, the Athletic\u2019s Ginsberg\u00a0told\u00a0us: \u201cThese photos are misleading and lack essential context. These were public interactions in front of many people. Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we\u2019re proud to have her at the Athletic.\u201d<\/p>\n

WireImage<\/p>\n

Now, the insider said: \u201cHer coverage is being reviewed. That process is expected to take time. She will not be reporting in the interim.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vrabel, who took over as the Pats\u2019 coach in January 2025 and took the team to the Super Bowl that year, told Page Six Tuesday, \u201cThese photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable. This doesn\u2019t deserve any further response.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Russini told us, \u201cThe photos don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

AP<\/p>\n

Kevin Mazur\/Getty Images for Roc Nation<\/p>\n

Russini married Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt in 2020. They have two children.<\/p>\n

Vrabel and wife Jen reportedly met as student athletes at Ohio State University and celebrated 25 years of marriage in 2024. They have two sons, one of whom, Tyler, briefly played for the Atlanta Falcons.The Athletic declined to comment.<\/p>\n

The Athletic declined to comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Times has sidelined top NFL reporter\u00a0Dianna Russini\u00a0after Page Six published photographs that appeared to show…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":192781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[191,157,837,9,11,10,980,22,319],"class_list":{"0":"post-192780","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-celebrity-news","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-new-england-patriots","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-headlines","13":"tag-new-york-news","14":"tag-new-york-times","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}