The Athletic released the findings of its internal investigation into former senior NFL reporter Dianna Russini on Thursday, but the conclusion revealed nothing new.
The nearly five-month review, led by editorial director for standards and quality Mike Semel, determined that Russini’s undisclosed alleged relationship with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel represented a “clear violation” of the outlet’s standards. However, the probe found no inaccuracies in her reporting and no evidence that she used her platform to promote Vrabel or his teams.
Details on The Athletic’s Investigation of Dianna Russini’s Reporting on Mike Vrabel
The scandal erupted in early April when Page Six published photos of Russini and Vrabel holding hands, embracing, and spending time poolside at a resort in Sedona, Arizona.
Page Six then published photos showing Russini and Vrabel allegedly kissing at a New York City bar in March 2020, six months before her wedding. Then TMZ reported that the two had rented a private boat together in Putnam County, Tennessee, in June 2021, while Vrabel was coaching the Tennessee Titans and Russini was pregnant with her first child.
Semel’s review covered 903 stories and 77 videos from Russini’s 32 months at The Athletic, yet only 46 written pieces mentioned Vrabel or the Patriots, and just three videos were related to the coach.
The investigation, thorough in scope, was narrow in what it could actually determine, given that Russini resigned in April and was no longer subject to a personal conduct probe.
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The report’s central finding focused on disclosure, not misconduct. “Specifically, when it comes to The Athletic’s standards, Russini was noncompliant,” the report said.
Semel concluded that the alleged relationship, regardless of its nature, should have been reported to editors so they could assess whether Russini should have been covering certain stories at all.
“Russini should have disclosed to The Athletic the nature of her relationship with Vrabel to allow editors to assess the kinds of stories on which she should have been working, if any,” the report noted. “She did not.”
The investigation did not attempt to define the relationship itself, as Semel added, “We neither completed an investigation nor reached any conclusion about the nature of the full relationship between Vrabel and Russini, but the totality of the public photographs are enough to conclude a violation of company policy.”
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On the substance of Russini’s work, Semel’s findings were relatively favorable.
“Most of what Russini wrote about Vrabel or the Patriots was transactional and newsy,” Semel wrote. “In addition, I’ve not found a clear link to conclude that Russini used her platform to promote Vrabel or help his teams during her time at The Athletic.”
He did note, however, that “the appearances surrounding her relationship with Vrabel undermines our audience’s confidence in her impartiality.”
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The review also flagged that “there are examples of Russini writing glowingly of Vrabel that in hindsight are awkward or even uncomfortable,” though Semel acknowledged that nearly all media coverage of Vrabel’s return to New England was similarly effusive.
Russini, for her part, offered a brief response to The Athletic’s investigation. “I stand by any and all reporting I’ve ever done in my career,” she told Andrew Marchand.
The report seems more inclined to protect The Athletic’s credibility than to satisfy the public’s curiosity. The only development that could meaningfully escalate this story now would be Russini herself choosing to speak publicly in detail, and she has shown no indication of doing so.
With the Patriots opening the 2026 season against the Seahawks on Wednesday in a Super Bowl 60 rematch, all eyes will shift back to Vrabel on the sideline, and it remains to be seen if we get a new development by then.
