What Really Happened Between Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel?

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, who did not disclose her relationship with Vrabel, 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.”

Russini, who is married to and shares two children with Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt, initially told Page Six when the first photos were published on April 7 that the pictures “don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day. Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”

Vrabel, who has two kids with his wife Jen, told Page Six the photos “show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable. This doesn’t deserve any further response.”

And Steven Ginsberg, The Athletic’s executive editor, told Page Six that the photos “are misleading and lack essential context.”

Vrabel later missed the third day of the NFL draft, leaving the Patriots to “seek counseling” after the photo scandal with Russini.

Ginsberg wasn’t specifically mentioned in Semel’s report.

Russini “waited two days before telling her editors and managers” after being confronted about the initial photos. “She then told a story to explain the photos that did not align with facts, raising issues of trust.”