nfl reporter diana Russini was at her home in Bergen County on Easter Sunday when a reporter from The New York Post arrived at her home. The reporter told him that the outlet had photos of Russini, The Athletic’s top newsbreaker, with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel in Arizona.
Russini told a Post reporter that he and Vrabel were recently in Arizona for NFL league meetings, according to conversations between the two people.
However, the photographs risked becoming a public relations disaster. They were taken to a luxury resort away from league meetings and Russini was shown hugging the Patriots coach and holding hands. Later that Sunday, after learning the nature of the photos, she was on the phone with a crisis communications specialist strategizing how to respond to the story, according to a person with knowledge of the call.
Two days later, on Tuesday evening, the Post published Ollie Coleman’s report with the headline, “New England Patriots’ Mike Vrabel and top NY Times NFL reporter Diana Russini shake hands and hug at luxury hotel.” The outlet published several photos of Russini and Vrabel at the Sedona resort. In one picture their fingers are joined together. In the second they are embracing. Others showed them together in the hotel pool.
In the days before and after the Post’s report, Russini, Vrabel and executives at The New York Times-owned The Athletic struggled to respond to an explosive story that raised questions about the relationship between one of the NFL’s most high-profile reporters and the coach of a major NFL franchise, according to interviews with a dozen people with knowledge of how it happened last week who spoke to ESPN on the condition of anonymity.
In addition to consulting with a crisis communicator, Russini appealed directly to Times Company CEO Meredith Kopit Levien to plead his case, according to five people with knowledge of the conversations. He also coordinated with Vrabel about how to respond to the post, a person with knowledge of the communications said. Russini and Vrabel, who are both married to other people, told the Post that the photos do not accurately reflect their interactions. Multiple staffers at The Times and The Athletic told ESPN that The Athletic initially defended Russini publicly but later faced an internal outcry from staff.
Rasini resigned Athletic Tuesday between one and internal investigation The nature of her relationship with Vrabel, her NFL coverage and whether she lied to the company about her meeting with Vrabel.
Vrabel, the reigning AP NFL Coach of the Year, continues coaching the Patriots and is preparing for next week’s NFL Draft. He did not respond to a request for comment. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league was not reviewing Vrabel’s behavior as part of the league’s personal conduct policy, which states that players, coaches and officials are required to avoid “conduct that is detrimental to the integrity of the National Football League and the public’s trust.”
A Patriots spokesperson did not respond to a question about whether they would review Vrabel’s relationship with Rusini.
Russini told ESPN she did not want to comment for this story, and did not respond to an extensive list of questions. His agent, Matt Olson, quoted his resignation letter to ESPN, which he wrote to The Athletic’s executive editor Steven Ginsburg and posted on social media this week: “I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story ever published. … Commentators in various media are engaged in self-filling speculation that is out of step with the facts.
“This has continued to escalate, with repeated leaks, and I have no interest in engaging in a public scrutiny that has already caused far more damage than I care to admit. Rather than allow this to continue, I have now decided to step aside…. I am doing so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to give it any more oxygen or let it define me or my career.”
In a note to The Athletic staff Tuesday obtained by ESPN, Ginsburg wrote: “When this situation was brought to our attention, there were obvious concerns, but we received a detailed explanation and our instinct was to support and defend a colleague while we continued to review the matter. As additional information came to light, new questions were raised that became part of our investigation.”
A spokesperson for The Athletic and The New York Times confirmed that Russini had resigned but declined to comment further.
Ambient Sedona An adults-only hotel nestled in the red rocks of Arizona, a two-hour drive north from Phoenix, is where the NFL holds its annual league meetings from March 29 to April 1. The meetings, in which team owners and head coaches convene to discuss rules and other league business, are well covered by many NFL reporters. The New York Post reported that Russini and Vrabel were photographed at the hotel on March 28.
According to Front Office Sports, an anonymous tipster sent the photos to TMZ, but they were ultimately published by the Post. A spokesperson for the Post declined to comment on how the outlet obtained the photos. According to multiple people familiar with internal discussions at the Post, if Russini and Vrabel could provide solid evidence to support their statements that they were both on the trip with friends, the outlet was open to changing the tone of the story or possibly not running it at all.
In the days before the story ran, Russini consulted advisors, including a veteran in crisis communications. Russini and Vrabel also talked about how to respond to the post, according to a person with knowledge of those discussions.
According to three people with knowledge of the timeline, The Athletic executives learned of the coming story from Russini on Tuesday afternoon. Internally, Russini argued that the photos were a sexual assault on a female reporter in a male-dominated field, the people said. People said she argued this to her bosses at The Athletic and called Levien and said she was traveling with friends. However, the Post wanted to turn it into a scandal, she told People internally, according to three people. Russini also offered to have its bosses talk to Vrabel, according to two people familiar with the proposal, which the company rejected.
Athletic officials held several meetings Tuesday afternoon. According to two people familiar with the internal deliberations, the group led by Ginsburg believed Russini’s version of events and decided to publicly support him. Ginsburg provided a statement to the Post: “These photos are misleading and lack necessary context. These were public conversations in front of many people. Diana is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we are proud to have her at The Athletic.”
Russini, who has frequently reported on Vrabel over the years, went on the record to refute the story, and Vrabel did the same. Russini told the Post that, while the photos only showed her and Vrabel, the two were among a group of people hanging out at the hotel.
“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is ridiculous,” Vrabel said in a statement to the Post. “It doesn’t deserve any further reaction.”
Rusini, 43, was One of the most visible journalists at The Athletic, which the Times acquired in 2022 for $550 million. According to people familiar with the matter, Russini was given a prized job by Ginsburg in 2023, when she jumped from ESPN to The Athletic and became one of the highest-paid reporters at the Times Company.
She launched a podcast, “Scoop City”, which gained a large following on social media, and she appeared in national media as a lead NFL newsbreaker. Colleagues described ESPN as critical of its outlet coverage of the league.
Rasini became the face not only of The Athletic but also of the Times Company. Last year, Russini traveled to Cannes with Times journalist Michael Barbero, The Daily host and business reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin to help woo advertisers. From the Super Bowl earlier this year, Russini posted a selfie of her and Levien together on Instagram.
“A Super Bowl to Remember,” Rasini wrote. “Always very grateful to cover the best sport in the world.”
But inside The Athletic last week, the Post report raised questions because it included an eyewitness account of Russini and Vrabel alone at the resort that contradicted their version of events, according to three people with knowledge of the timeline.
While The Athletic was quick to defend itself before the story, authorities now sought more evidence from Russini such as text messages about airport pickups, screenshots of travel plans or photos from the hike, three of the people said. He said Russini never provided sufficient evidence. On Friday, April 10, ESPN reported that The Athletic had launched an investigation into its NFL coverage and the nature of its relationship with Vrabel, and a person familiar with the matter told ESPN that it would not report during that process.
The New York Times’ ethics policy for avoiding conflicts states: “Relations with sources require sound judgment to prevent the fact or appearance of bias… It is essential that we maintain separation free from any inkling of bias.”
The policy states that a reporter’s close relationships with people involved in his coverage must be disclosed to the standards editor.
Varabel is not He is scheduled to address the media leading up to the NFL Draft next week. It is unclear whether he will address the players about the photos. Coaches have apologized to their teams several times amid personal controversies. In 2021, then-Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer said apologized His team, his family and owner Shaad Khan after a viral video surfaced in which a young woman was seen dancing close to his lap in his restaurant.
Former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden apologized publicly A Wall Street Journal report in 2021 revealed that he had used a racist slur in an email 10 years earlier. According to ESPN reporting at the time, Gruden had already alerted players that the Journal’s story was about to be published. He resigned after a few days.
Vrabel, a member of the Patriots Hall of Fame, won three Super Bowls as a linebacker for the team and was hired as head coach last season. Vrabel led the Patriots to the Super Bowl in his first year, after a season in which the team struggled to a 4–13 record. He told reporters last year that accountability was the key to change.
“I think that’s what we’ve always tried to build — the ability to hold people accountable and hold each other accountable,” Vrabel said last November. “Not in a negative way but in a positive way to help myself and help the team.”
In the meantime, The Athletic’s review of Russini’s work will continue, Ginsburg wrote in his note to staff. That investigation will be led by Standards editor Mike Semel, he said.
“In a career spanning more than fifteen years in sports journalism at NBC, ESPN and The Athletic, I have done a body of work of which I am proud,” Russini wrote in his resignation letter. “I have broken stories, earned the trust of sources across the league, and have been guided by the highest standards of professional conduct.”
Rusini’s contract was due to expire in June. He will not be paid the remainder of the deal, according to multiple people familiar with the terms of his exit.
