Dianna Russini resigned from The Athletic on Tuesday less than a week after the New York Post published photos of her with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at an Arizona resort, as first reported by Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press. Russini, who joined the publication as its senior NFL insider in 2023, had reportedly been under an internal investigation that, per the publication’s executive editor Steven Ginsberg, will continue in her absence.
Per the AP, Russini’s wrote a resignation letter to Ginsburg in which she expressed her gratitude for The Athletic backing her when the photos were published and called out commentators for “self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.” Russini also cited a “media frenzy” that was taking place as the publication was working to review the situation.
“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 wrote. “Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now — 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.”
Russini was pictured alone with Vrabel, but said in a statement to the New York Post that there was a “group of six people who were hanging out during the day.” Russini had also said that “reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.” Ginsberg, in his initial response to the Post, said that the photos were “misleading” and bereft of “essential context.” Editorial guidelines for The Athletic read that employees “should avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
In an internal memo on Wednesday obtained by Dylan Byers of Puck, Ginsberg confirmed that Russini had submitted a resignation effective immediately. “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,” Ginsberg wrote. “As additional information emerged, new questions were raised that became part of our investigation.”
Prior to joining The Athletic, Russini worked at ESPN for eight years as a reporter and appeared on shows such as “Sunday NFL Countdown” and “NFL Live.” Before appearing on the national network, Russini worked for several different outlets on sports and news reporting, including CSN Northwest, News 12 and NBC-affiliated stations in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
