Ever since Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel were photographed together at a resort in Sedona, Arizona, the controversy has been among the biggest stories of this NFL offseason.
Right after the images were published, The Athletic announced it would investigate the situation. Shortly after, Russini submitted her resignation from the media outlet.
Now, The New York Times released a bombshell report on the scandal, revealing that Russini used her access to an NFL head coach to get out of a traffic ticket before the Vrabel scandal was exposed.
Dianna Russini Used NFL Connections During Traffic Stop
The New York Times highlighted an incident that occurred months before the NFL insider was spotted with Vrabel in Arizona, which Russini later detailed on the “Stugotz and Company” podcast.
Russini got busted by a police officer for texting while driving (for the second time that month). She admitted that she first tried to use the Buffalo Bills’ firing of Sean McDermott as an excuse to get out of the ticket. When that didn’t work, she resorted to a FaceTime with the officer’s favorite NFL team’s head coach.
“Do you want to talk to the coach? You should talk to the coach,” Ms. Russini said. “I FaceTime the head coach. Head coach is in his office. He said, ‘What’s up?’ I go, ‘I just got pulled over and I just wanted you to meet my friend, Officer Joe.’”
According to Russini, the unnamed coach told the police officer that Russini is “a good citizen” and that he should let her go. The head coach in question was not Vrabel, according to the article.
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While Russini found this story funny, The Athletic did not. A Times Company spokesperson, Danielle Rhoades Ha, called it “unacceptable conduct.”
“Ms. Russini operated in a sports-media landscape where traditional journalistic lines could be blurry. She might have considered calling a coach to get out of a ticket, not only as appropriate but also as a funny story to tell on a podcast. For The Athletic, under the ownership of The Times, it was out of bounds,” The New York Times article reads.
Kelly McBride, chair of the Newmark Center for Ethics at the Poynter Institute and a former ombudswoman at ESPN, called the incident “an abuse of professional access for personal gain.”
The Athletic is currently investigating Russini’s conduct. Russini was among the highest-paid journalists at the Times Company, earning approximately $800,000, according to the report.
