Dianna Russini resigns

Dianna Russini resigned from The Athletic on Tuesday, April 14, after the outlet investigated photos of her with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel. (nbcnews.com) Russini said in a resignation letter that she was stepping down before her contract expired on June 30. The New York Times, which owns The Athletic, confirmed her departure to NBC News. (nbcnews.com) The New York Post’s Page Six published the photos on April 7 and said they were taken before the National Football League league meeting that began in Phoenix on March 29. The images showed Russini and Vrabel at Ambiente, a luxury hotel in Sedona, Arizona. (espn.com) The Athletic first defended Russini publicly. Executive editor Steven Ginsberg told the Post the photos were “misleading” and lacked context, then the Times reported on April 11 that The Athletic was investigating her conduct. (nbcnews.com) Russini wrote that media speculation was “unmoored from the facts” and said she did not want to submit to “a public inquiry.” She said she was leaving to stop the episode from defining her career. (espn.com) Vrabel and Russini both denied any improper relationship after the photos appeared. Russini said the images did not show the larger group of six people who were together that day, and Vrabel called any other suggestion “laughable.” (cbsnews.com) Russini joined The Athletic in 2023 after nearly a decade at ESPN, where she worked as a SportsCenter anchor, National Football League analyst and insider. At The Athletic, she hosted a podcast and appeared on the outlet’s video platform. (espn.com) The resignation lands one week before the National Football League draft, when insider reporting carries unusual weight and teams tighten access around coaches, executives and player evaluations. It also ends The Athletic’s internal review before any public findings were released. (nbcnews.com)