{"id":584547,"date":"2026-04-14T23:12:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T23:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/584547\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T23:12:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T23:12:07","slug":"nfl-reporter-dianna-russini-resigns-from-the-athletic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/584547\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL reporter Dianna Russini resigns from The Athletic"},"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

<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel speaks to reporters at the NFL football annual meetings, Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin)<\/p>\n

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel speaks to reporters at the NFL football annual meetings, Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin)<\/p>\n

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\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 \u201cSportsCenter\u201d 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 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

\u201cWhen 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,\u201d Ginsberg said in a note to staff on Tuesday announcing Russini\u2019s resignation. \u201cAs additional information emerged, new questions were raised that became part of our investigation. While our investigation into Dianna\u2019s conduct was ongoing, she chose to resign.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ginsberg said the review of Russini\u2019s work will continue.<\/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","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":584548,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[1927,94756,399,793,2001,8225,9643,1815,2005,349,9644,99,255918,795],"class_list":{"0":"post-584547","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-ap-top-news","9":"tag-dianna-russini","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-general-news","12":"tag-massachusetts","13":"tag-mike-vrabel","14":"tag-national-football-league","15":"tag-new-england-patriots","16":"tag-new-york","17":"tag-nfl","18":"tag-nfl-football","19":"tag-sports","20":"tag-steven-ginsberg","21":"tag-u-s-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=584547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/584548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=584547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=584547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=584547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}