Dianna Russini’s Ties To NFL Coach Violated Ethics Rules But Didn’t Taint Most Reporting, Athletic Probe Finds

Dianna Russini, former NFL insider for The Athletic, violated company rules by cultivating ties with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel but the vast majority of her reporting was not tainted by it. That was the main takeaway from a five-month investigation into the matter by the New York Times subsidiary. The findings of the probe were published Thursday by The Athletic. Russini resigned last April after photos of her with Vrabel at an adults-only resort in Arizona were published by The New York Post. The photos showed the two interlocking their fingers and hugging and also relaxing in a hot tub. Russini and Vrabel maintained that they had not had a romantic relationship and were accompanied by other friends. Mike Semel, editorial director for standards and quality at The Athletic, reviewed 903 stories and 77 videos published on Athletic platforms with Russini’s byline, co-byline, a contributor line or a mention of her reporting. He also assessed podcasts and media appearances and spoke with 14 staffers who worked closely with Russini. According to multiple media reports Thursday, Semel did not speak to Russini. Watch on Deadline “Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards,” Semel wrote. “Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed.” He noted that the determination was made after not just the initial photos but subsequent images showing the pair kissing in a New York bar and gambling at a Mississippi casino years before the Post revelations. Despite that transgression, Semel added, “the vast majority” of her stories had nothing directly to do with Vrabel. One video featuring her and one story she wrote, however, did warrant an editors’ note being attached to clarify the Vrabel element. Semel focused his conclusions on how The Athletic can prevent future lapses. “It is crucial for The Athletic to sustain reader trust, and after such events, it would be wise to look for ways to tighten standards,” he wrote. Specific ways to do so include in-person meetings between Semel and new employees and editors asking reporters who their anonymous sources are, “even for Insider transactional news.” Reporters, he added, “need to answer their editors honestly and immediately.” Russini belonged to a special club of sports reporters known as “insiders,” who command salaries reaching into the seven figures by breaking news deriving from close relationships with team sources. Many insiders have had brushes with scandal, as was the case for ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who admitted erring in 2021 when he sent a full draft of a story before publication to Bruce Allen, president of the Washington Football Team (now the Commanders). He invited the exec to propose changes to the piece, addressing him in an email as “Mr. Editor.” The tabloid-fueled Russini story came just two months after Vrabel – a three-time Super Bowl champion as a Patriots player – coached the team to the Super Bowl, where it lost to Seattle. The Athletic’s relationship to the Times was put under the microscope by the scandal. The digital outlet, founded in 2016, was acquired by the Times in 2022 for $550 million in cash. Following the acquisition, the company’s newsgathering operations were brought more closely into the fold as the existing Times sports department was dismantled. Even so, Athletic staffers were generally not subject to the stricter ethics rules of the Times. Semel’s report did not address the larger question of the relationship between The Athletic and its corporate parent.