The New York Times recently published a lengthy report about Dianna Russini, and the article opened with a story she told about FaceTiming an NFL head coach while pulled over for texting and driving, who then convinced the officer to let her go.
However, bodycam footage obtained by Adam Herbets of the Center Square proved the story wasn’t true. At no point in the video did Russini FaceTime or call any NFL coach; instead, she told the officer she was an NFL reporter who had just broken news of Sean McDermott’s firing from the Buffalo Bills, showed him text messages with Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, and was let go with a verbal warning.
Mike Florio Questions Whether Dianna Russini Can Work in Media Again
Mike Florio, who has covered the Russini saga extensively, went further than most in assessing the fallout. On “Pro Football Talk,” Florio raised more questions about Russini’s future after the released bodycam video proved she blatantly lied about FaceTiming an NFL head coach just to make her story more interesting.
“I’ve gone from believing it’s practically impossible for her to be a journalist again, an insider again, [to] I’m now starting to wonder whether or not she’s employable in any capacity in the media,” Florio said. “And look, again, I want to go far enough to satisfy my role. I don’t want to go too far. But who’s going to hire her?”
“If you can’t trust anything someone says, are you going to hire them?” he added. “I mean, it really does seem, and I’m not coming to any conclusion here, I’m just raising the question, I would want to know if I’m hiring this person to be a podcaster, radio host, whatever. What is the basic level of truthfulness on big matters, on little matters?”
Florio continued. “Can I ever believe what this person is saying, or is this person only saying whatever needs to be said in a given moment to achieve whatever goal is trying to be achieved?”
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The concern Florio raised isn’t limited to traditional employment, either. Russini’s ability to break news or offer analysis on any independent platform would also face immediate pushback.
X (formerly Twitter) remains the primary distribution channel for NFL news, and any future post Russini makes will be met with comments and posts challenging her credibility and references to the growing list of controversies.
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The FaceTime lie is layered over the ongoing Mike Vrabel scandal, unresolved questions regarding her reporting on the Julio Jones trade, and the ethics investigation that The Athletic has not yet disclosed.
It also means that whenever Russini says or reports something, people will have legitimate questions about whether it’s true. Even if she were to provide her account of the alleged relationship with Vrabel, most people would still refuse to believe her.
It will be interesting to see whether The Athletic’s long-awaited investigation results, which Florio has predicted could drop around the July 4 holiday weekend, offer any clarity on the full scope of what happened.
For Russini, the chance to improve her professional reputation is quickly slipping away, and the bodycam footage was another huge blow to her credibility.
