The Athletic’s senior NFL insider Dianna Russini has resigned from the New York Times-owned sports publication after Page Six published photos last week that showed her hugging and holding hands with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, sparking an internal investigation.
Athletic executive editor Steven Ginsberg confirmed her resignation in a Slack message to staffers.
“I’m writing to let you know that Dianna Russini has submitted her resignation from The Athletic, effective immediately,” he wrote in a message obtained by TheWrap. “While I can’t share the details of our investigation into Dianna’s conduct, I want to emphasize that the leadership of The Athletic has taken this matter seriously from the moment that we learned about it.”
Russini shared her resignation note to Ginsberg on X, writing in a Tuesday post that it was “everything I have to say about it.” She did not address her relationship with Vrabel in the note, instead calling the public commentary around it “self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.”
“You and I have already publicly addressed the recent attacks against me, and I have nothing to add publicly to what we have said,” she wrote to Ginsberg. “I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand by every story I have ever published.”
The resignation comes a week after the New York Post’s Page Six published photos of Russini and Vrabel at a luxury hotel in Sedona, Arizona, reporting the two also ate breakfast together and spent time at the hotel’s pool and hot tub. Russini noted that sports reporters frequently meet sources outside of stadiums, while Vrabel said the photos showed “a completely innocent interaction.”
Ginsberg initially came to Russini’s defense in the Post story, but he acknowledged in his Tuesday Slack message that “there were clear concerns.” The Athletic launched its investigation once the Page Six report was published, due to editorial guidelines that prohibit “even the appearance of a conflict of interest … that may put into question our ability to be credible.”
“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.”
Ginsberg said Mike Semel, a former Washington Post editor who joined The Athletic as editorial director for standards and editorial quality last year, will continue a standards review of Russini’s work.
“I want to sincerely thank everyone for continuing to produce the best sports report in the business,” he told staffers. “I’m looking forward to focusing on our journalism and continuing our momentum.”
Russini joined The Athletic in 2023 after eight years at ESPN. Her contract was set to expire on June 30, she wrote in her note to Ginsberg, but she opted to leave earlier and before the investigation concluded to avoid “submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept.”
“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 to let it define me or my career,” she wrote.
