In April 2026 Page six published compromising photos of reporter Dianna Russini of The Athletic and New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel. The footage showed the duo hugging and relaxing by a hotel pool. Given their professional proximity, a celebrity cheating scandal would have transgressed all kinds of ethical boundaries. Russini and Vrabel are also married, and not to each other. Unsurprisingly, the photos sparked major backlash for both parties, despite their loud claims that everything was overboard. Russini, for example, no longer works as a reporter, and it is likely her actions in the early days of the scandal sealed her fate.
In the beginning, Russini’s employer fully supported her. “These images are misleading and lack significant context,” Steven Ginsberg, managing editor of the Athletic, stated at the time. “These were public interactions in front of a lot of people. Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we are proud to have her at the Athletic.” However, the tone behind the scenes changed when it was discovered that she had known about the pictures two days before she came clean to her employers. In particular, this is according to New York Timeswhich owns The Athletic.
When Russini finally picked up the phone, she called New York Times Company President and CEO Meredith Popit Levie, who had to urge the reporter to contact her superiors at The Athletic. As a result, it’s entirely possible that her actions after the fact left a worse taste in her bosses’ mouths than the scandal itself.
Dianna Russini ultimately resigned from The Athletic
At the time of writing, neither Dianna Russini nor Mike Vrabel have publicly admitted to engaging in any kind of romantic relationship. However messy sports scandal has caused cozy pictures of Dianna Russini with her husband for really not aging well. And unfortunately for the former Athletic journalist, she’s also out of her $800,000-a-year job, which she quit before the publication even finished its internal investigation. Russini revealed why she bowed out in her resignation letter. “This media frenzy is rushing forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is trying to complete,” the reporter wrote in a since-deleted tweet (via People). “It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept.”
Russini reportedly struggled with his choice. “Dianna is a bit shocked by the whole thing and hasn’t really shown her hand in all of this as it’s been a very intense situation that she’s still trying to figure out and feel for,” a police source said. Daily Mail in April 2026. “She is neither here nor there right now as the dust hasn’t settled a bit. No one including herself knows what her next step will be.” They noted that she is focused on her family and home life above all else, and especially on making sure her children are protected from the drama.
