The final nail in the coffin of Dianna Russini’s career covering football for The Athletic was struck when on Thursday an internal investigation found that the well-publicized relationship between its former senior NFL reporter, and Mike Vrabel, the head coach of the New England Patriots, was a “clear violation” of company standards.
The Athletic Investigation Finds Dianna Russini Realtionship With Mike Vrabel Is Clear Violation
There was a glimmer of hope on the part of Russini supporters and possibly her camp that she would be cleared of any wrongdoing and possibly even return to work.
Russini, 43, resigned from The Athletic amidst a firestorm of controversy and social media hype concerning an ongoing affair she allegedly had with current New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel. Photos of the two alone in a couples resort created widespread backlash for Russini, who is married with children. The breaking news not only damaged her reputation as a wife, but also put her credibility as a reporter into question.
Photos that were revealed to the public, showed the two being intimate, holding hands and sharing time in the hot tub.
Mike Vrabel Has No Comment On Russini Findings
In the case of Russini, she got fired and humiliated and Vrabel embarrassed his family for a couple days, but was right back to business, preparing for a rematch of the Super Bowl they lost in February. Wednesday night’s game against the Seahawks on Sept. 9 is his focus.
At a press conference on Thursday, Vrabel was asked if he had any reaction to the findings.
“No, I don’t have any reaction,” Vrabel said. “We’re moved on and focused on Seattle and focused on the Patriots and focused on getting better this week.”
RELATED: Mike Vrabel Can’t Escape Diana Russini Cheating Scandal …
What Did the Five-Month Review On Dianna Russini Reveal?
The five-month review reports that Russini’s personal connection to Vrabel was unprofessional and a clear conflict of interest which she should have disclosed to the company, regardless of the nature of the relationship.
Investigators reviewed a whopping 903 stories, 204 podcast episodes, and 77 videos, however, found no evidence that Russini’s relationship with Vrabel influenced her reporting. It may have given her an inside track on information, and some fans accuse her of offering certain takes to try to help along specific possible trade scenarios. The investigators say she’s cool on those accusations.
It was reported that editors at The Athletic have added retroactive notes to one written article and three videos Russini produced that the company deemed “overly flattering or awkward in hindsight.”
Fans Are Sick Of Dianna Russini-Mike Vrabel Saga
Most football fans are ready to move past this situation, which still leaves a bad taste in the mouth of journalists and other media affiliates. There are also those who feel Russini’s loss of job was too huge a price to pay for a relationship with a coach.
“Please, enough with the nonsense. I must have won a bet because I predicted something would come up before the Patriots’ first game, especially from the New York reporter. This is just beating a dead horse,” one user commented.
“The aspect of this story that should be getting far more attention is the blow this is to female reporters, especially those covering sports. Sleeping with the handsome coach while you’re professionally covering the sport is so cliché and reinforces all the stereotypes,” another user replied.
“The report also noted, without elaborating, that Ms. Russini had shared with them a story to explain the photos that did not align with facts, raising issues of trust. A simpler way of saying it is that she lied. That’s a serious finding from The Athletic’s internal review,” a netizen expressed.
“So when a woman does it it’s wrong? Definitely more to this story than two consenting adults fooling around,” another fan said, downplaying the ethics violation.
One fan asked:
“How do you think media organizations should handle situations like this when a reporter’s professional relationship with a coach crosses company standards?”
What’s Next For Dianna Russini?
Russini’s story was heating up the social media moshpit when it initially broke in early April 2026, when photographs of her and Vrabel together in Arizona were published by the New York Post.
She received plenty of criticism in the media from her male and female colleagues. In addition to the career catastrophe, Russini’s relationship with her Shake Shack executive husband, Kevin Goldschmidt, is on the mend as the couple were spotted together on luxury cruise with their two sons back in July.
Goldschmidt received much of the social media backlash for acting like everything was peachy while being publicly humiliated for years by his wife – allegedly.
