Dianna Russini is again in the spotlight, this time for her viral traffic story. The former NFL insider previously claimed on a podcast that she avoided a texting-while-driving citation by FaceTiming an NFL head coach and handing the call to the officer during the stop.
However, newly released police bodycam video does not show any FaceTime with an NFL head coach. As a result, Russini is now facing criticism for another controversy on top of the Mike Vrabel scandal.
Meanwhile, The New York Times has also drawn backlash for treating the FaceTime story as fact and failing to obtain bodycam footage in its recent bombshell report on Russini.
NFL Podcaster Tony Farmer Tried Warning The New York Times About Dianna Russini’s Traffic Story
NFL writer and podcaster Tony Farmer revealed that he expected this exact outcome. Farmer shared his frustration on X while posting a screenshot of what he described as an unanswered conversation with New York Times reporter Ken Belson.
“Last week I tried to warn the NYT that I requested Russini bodycam footage and they might look silly upon publication,” Farmer wrote. “I thought it was odd/suspicious they hadn’t already included it. [no reply, various attempts].”
Later, The Center Square released the bodycam footage publicly. Its release came only days after The New York Times published an extensive report examining Russini’s career and her resignation from The Athletic.
The New York Times article actually opens with the traffic-stop incident, treating her FaceTime anecdote as a fact. Because of this, critics believe the newspaper failed to do basic fact-checking such as acquiring the bodycam footage that would have quickly debunked her story.
Farmer continued his criticism by questioning how the publication missed something he believed was easy to spot.
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“If I saw the egg on their face coming, how did they not?” he added. “I’m just a guy and not even good at this, they’re the New York Times and had a 2 month head start.”
Russini originally told the traffic-stop story during a February appearance on the “Stugotz and Company” podcast while explaining how she was rushing to report NFL news.
“I FaceTime the head coach,” she said at the time. “I just got pulled over, and I just wanted you to meet my friend, Officer Joe.”
According to Russini, the coach then told the officer, “You should let her go, she’s a good citizen.”
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However, the newly released seven-minute bodycam footage presents a very different version of events. The video shows that she name-drops Brian Daboll before realizing that the officer supports the Minnesota Vikings. She then displays text messages with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and comments that the team’s quarterback “sucks,” appearing to reference J.J. McCarthy.
Meanwhile, the officer listened to her explanation but pointed out that she had been using her phone “for a while.” He decided against writing a ticket and gave a verbal warning.
“I’m gonna cut you a break on the cellphone,” the officer said. “I understand your job requires you to be on the phone a lot. Just try to wait ’til you get home, OK?”
The Ridgewood Police Department also backed that decision. Chief Forest Ross Lyons explained that the officer checked Russini’s driving record before choosing a verbal warning instead of a citation. He also said that allowing officers to decide between a warning and a ticket fits the department’s standard policy.
The Athletic’s internal investigation into Russini’s reporting is ongoing, and the Russini-Vrabel scandal appears far from over.
