Dianna Russini’s ongoing Mike Vrabel controversy has expanded beyond her resignation from The Athletic, raising questions about the integrity of NFL award voting.
The situation has drawn increased scrutiny because of the overlap between her role as an Associated Press NFL awards voter and her alleged relationship with the New England Patriots head coach, who won the NFL’s Coach of the Year award last season.
While The Athletic continues its internal investigation into Russini’s journalistic conduct, questions have also emerged about her future as one of the AP’s 50 NFL awards voters. With no public response from the AP, speculation has continued to grow, prompting renewed calls for greater transparency.
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Russini served as The Athletic’s lead NFL insider while also holding one of the AP’s 50 voting positions for the league’s annual awards. Since intimate photos of Russini and Vrabel surfaced in April, her impartiality has come under scrutiny, with critics questioning whether her relationship created a conflict of interest.
With Vrabel having won the 2025 AP Coach of the Year award, Russini’s voting record has become a focal point, and several commentators have called on the AP to release her ballot.
NFL insider Mike Florio has sought answers from the AP on multiple occasions without success. Now, podcaster Tony Farmer has suggested the organization is avoiding the issue.
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“The Associated Press is acting like it’s hiding something,” Farmer wrote on X. “It won’t even explain its behavior. Why not release all NFL awards ballots like they did the year before? Why the change in protocol?”
Although both Russini and Vrabel denied having an affair, the leaked photos intensified public interest in their relationship. That, in turn, has fueled calls for greater transparency surrounding Russini’s award ballot, particularly because honors such as Coach of the Year can influence bonuses, contract incentives, legacies, and betting markets.
Russini had already faced criticism following the 2024 awards after voting for Lamar Jackson as NFL MVP despite previously telling Josh Allen that she intended to vote for him. However, the current controversy centers on potential conflicts of interest, so there’s added pressure on the Associated Press.
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The AP has also been silent on whether Russini will remain an NFL award voter, but it seems unlikely given that she resigned from The Athletic and described herself as a “former journalist” in text messages with The New York Times.
It is possible the AP is waiting for the results of The Athletic’s internal investigation before commenting publicly. Even so, the organization should review Russini’s ballots and provide greater clarity, given the AP’s role in overseeing the NFL’s awards.
For now, the AP hasn’t publicly addressed the controversy or responded to questions surrounding the matter. The longer they remain silent, the louder the criticism is likely to grow.
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