The Athletic has completed its investigation into former reporter Dianna Russini, concluding that she failed to comply with the outlet’s standards while finding only limited evidence that her coverage involving Mike Vrabel was influenced by bias.
Russini resigned from the New York Times-owned sports publication after photos surfaced in March showing her with New England Patriots coach Vrabel at an adults-only resort in Arizona.
In the weeks that followed, additional material emerged, prompting questions about the nature of their relationship and broader concerns over journalistic ethics, particularly given Russini’s prominent role as an NFL insider covering the league.
The investigation did not determine the exact nature of the relationship between Russini and Vrabel. Both denied having an affair or being unfaithful to their partners, although Vrabel later issued an apology for his “actions.”
The report stated: “Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards. Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed.
“Specifically, when it comes to The Athletic’s standards, Russini was noncompliant.”
The Athletic has released a major report on Dianna Russini following the Mike Vrabel controversy
The report concluded that Russini’s relationship with Mike Vrabel represented a “clear violation of standards”
Per The Athletic, Russini declined to be interviewed but insisted: ‘I stand by any and all reporting I’ve ever done in my career.’
The report added: ‘We neither completed an investigation nor reached any conclusion about the nature of the full relationship between Vrabel and Russini, but the totality of the public photographs are enough to conclude a violation of company policy.’
The five-month-long inquiry was conducted by Mike Semel, The Athletic’s editorial director for standards and editorial quality.
He ‘reviewed 903 stories and 77 videos’ that carried Russini’s byline as well as reviewing ‘204 episodes of the Scoop City podcast’, her show with the company. He also interviewed ‘approximately 14’ of her colleagues and tried ‘to evaluate how The Athletic’s coverage of certain events involving Vrabel or his teams compared to coverage in other publications.’
The report claims that ‘when first confronted with the photos by The New York Post, Russini waited two days before telling her editors and managers. She then told a story to explain the photos that did not align with facts, raising issues of trust.’
However, Semel found limited evidence of favoritism towards Vrabel, stating: ‘Most of what Russini wrote about Vrabel or the Patriots was transactional and newsy. In addition, I’ve not found a clear link to conclude that Russini used her platform to promote Vrabel or help his teams during her time at The Athletic.’
He added: ‘That said, there are examples of Russini writing glowingly of Vrabel that in hindsight are awkward or even uncomfortable.’
The report points out that ‘One story in particular likely would not have happened were it not for the connection between Russini and Vrabel,’ an article regarding the year between him being fired by the Tennessee Titans, then hired by the New England Patriots.
The Athletic found no evidence of bias in Russini’s reporting of the Patriots and Mike Vrabel
Russini left The Athletic shortly after the story broke before a months-long investigation began
However, the story idea came from another reporter at The Athletic, and while they ‘asked Russini to broker a meeting with Vrabel’, she was not present and ‘had nothing to do with the journalism’. As a result, the report found: ‘The story itself meets Athletic standards, even if the access is questionable.’
The report also noted that ‘Russini’s work was seldom reliant on Vrabel as a source or subject’ and said that Athletic staffers ‘did not suspect she was closer with Vrabel than anyone else’.
Just last month, one of Russini’s former colleagues spoke publicly about the saga and defended her reporting, calling her a ‘really good friend’ and stating he was ‘really, really proud of the journalism we did together’.
‘I don’t think people understand the level of elite that she was performing at in terms of keeping in touch with the really important people around the league,’ Mike Silver said.
‘And I don’t mean just agents and transactional, like players, coaches, owners, all of it, talking, having real conversations with them every day and really knowing what was going on and competing at a very high level.’
Silver added: ‘And I do think she’s going to be back, probably not as an insider, at least in the short term. But I think she’ll be back in this realm, probably talking about football and other things pretty soon.’
Russini’s next move has not yet been revealed, but she has been tipped to return to the NFL world in the coming months.
The release of The Athletic’s investigation would appear to pave the way for a potential return to employment, with no ongoing probe looming over her.
Russini previously worked for ESPN, where she covered the Titans when Vrabel was coach
Silver revealed: ‘I do think she’s going to be back, probably not as an insider, at least in the short term. But I think she’ll be back in this realm, probably talking about football and other things pretty soon.’
Silver went on to comment on the wellbeing of Russini and her family after the fallout. She is married to Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt, with whom she has two young sons. The couple has put on a united front, having been pictured kissing in May as they were seen for the first time since the scandal.
‘I do know her family,’ Silver said. ‘She’s got a great family. And so, you know, a lot of people have had a lot of thoughts about it.
‘I’m not really getting into that, but I would say she is doing a lot better and her family’s doing well.’
