Dianna Russini was found by The Athletic to have violated newsroom standards over her relationship with current Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, the outlet said Thursday as the company completed its investigation into her work.
Page Six obtained photos in April showing Russini and Vrabel holding hands at a resort hotel in Arizona and later obtained photos of the two kissing at a Manhattan bar in 2020, when Vrabel was the head coach of the Titans and Russini was working for ESPN.
Russini resigned from The Athletic in April.
Mike Semel, The Athletic’s editorial director for standards and quality, said he did not find “a clear link to conclude that Russini used her platform to help promote Vrabel or help his teams during her time at The Athletic.”
“That said, there are examples of Russini writing glowingly of Vrabel that in hindsight are awkward or even uncomfortable,” Semel wrote in the report that was published online.
Semel said he reviewed 903 stories and 77 videos Russini contributed to while she worked for The Athletic, along with 204 episodes of her podcast. He interviewed 14 Athletic staffers who worked closely with Russini.
However, he did not speak with Russini, a source told ESPN.
While he said he found no inaccuracies in Russini’s reporting involving Vrabel, Semel did mention that in a Nov. 23, 2023 column, she wrote that Vrabel’s job with the Titans was safe, citing “multiple conversations with high-ranking Titans officials.”
The Titans fired Vrabel on Jan. 9, 2024. According to Semel, “no other media came out as strongly about Vrabel’s job security. However, it is difficult to prove that Russini did not actually have ‘multiple conversations with high-ranking Titans officials’ or that it wasn’t accurate at the time of publication.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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