The Athletic has concluded its investigation into former NFL reporter Dianna Russini following her resignation in April on the heels of published photos of her and New England Patriots head coach and former Ohio State player and assistant coach Mike Vrabel.
Conducted by Mike Semel, an editorial director for standards and quality at The Athletic, theinvestigation ultimately concluded that Russini failed to disclose her conflict of interest
regarding Vrabel."Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards," the report reads. "Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed."
Semel wrote that he reviewed 903 stories, 204 podcasts and 77 videos before releasing
his report. He concluded "the vast majority of Russini’s work for The Athletic had nothing to do with Vrabel, the teams he was coaching or the players the team was pursuing." Semel added that most of Russini's coverage of Vrabel and the Patriots was "transactional and newsy." The review covered her journalistic work, not personal conduct, since she resigned from the company April 14, a week after Page Six first published photos of her and Vrabel holding hands at an Arizona resort.
"When first confronted with the photos by The New York Post, Russini waited two days before telling her editors and managers," Semel wrote. "She then told a story to explain the photos that did not align with facts, raising issues of trust."
About five percent of the stories written by Russini mentioned Vrabel, according to the report, but none included exclusive information that was not reported by other news organizations.
One story, a profile of Vrabel in 2024 during his year off from coaching between the Patriots and the Tennessee Titans written by another reporter, would not have happened were it not for the connection between Vrabel and Russini, who brokered a meeting with Vrabel that led to the story. Semel found no inaccuracies in any of Russini's story about Vrabel or his teams.
Vrabel was born in Akron, Ohio and attended Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls. An Ohio State football defensive end from 1993-1996, Vrabel was drafted in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played for the Patriots from 2001 to 2007.
After his playing career, Vrabel joined the Buckeyes coaching staff as a linebackers coach in 2011 and the defensive line coach from 2012-13. He later transitioned to the NFL and became head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2018.
Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini photos
On April 7, the New York Post published the first batch of images of the two taken about a week earlier, prior to the league's annual meetings in Arizona. The photographs of Russini and Vrabel "indicate a relationship that puts The Athletic’s credibility in jeopardy and gives the appearance of a conflict of interest," regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, Semel wrote.
On April 23, before the first round of the NFL draft, TMZ and the Post published additional photos of the two. Vrabel ultimately spent the final day of the draft (Saturday, April 25) away from the team.
Russini waited two days before telling her managers of the photos, the report confirmed. The investigation also included interviews with 14 Athletic staffers who worked most closely with Russini.
A New York Times story from June reported Russini no longer considers herself a journalist.
Dispatch reporter Dan Aulbach contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dianna Russini's relationship with Mike Vrabel was 'clear violation,' The Athletic says
