Mike Vrabel and people inside the New England Patriots organization have largely moved on from the controversy that engulfed their offseason. But for several women covering the NFL, ESPN reports that the fallout is still changing how they do their jobs.
Women in NFL media told ESPN that the Vrabel-Dianna Russini situation has made building sources more difficult, with some taking extra precautions during meetings and routine coffee conversations.
Women Reporters Facing More Scrutiny After Dianna Russini Controversy
ESPN reported that an assistant coach told one woman covering the league that he would avoid meeting her for coffee because he worried about how people would perceive it after the Vrabel-Russini situation.
Another reporter said multiple NFL personnel contacted her this spring with a more specific warning: “Women reporters will have a harder time at the scouting combine.” The combine has always served as a major source-building event where reporters and league personnel interact socially.
Four reporters told ESPN they now feel they must be more cautious when meeting sources, texting them or asking for phone numbers.
Another said she has become more proactive about informing her editor when she meets with team personnel in case someone photographs the meeting.
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The frustration carries an extra sting because Vrabel had publicly acknowledged the obstacles women face in football media.
He has made a habit of giving the first question at news conferences to veteran female reporters, a practice he carried from Tennessee to New England.
“It really [expletive] this came from someone who a lot of us thought approached things differently than his peers,” one NFL reporter who has covered Vrabel told ESPN.
“It’s just unfortunate because it felt like he understood there are challenges that women in the business face and was doing one small bit to try and push back on it.”
Mike Vrabel Moves On as Female Reporters Face the Fallout
The controversy began in April after photos showed Vrabel and Russini together at a resort in Sedona, Arizona. Both said the images did not accurately reflect the nature of their interaction.
Two weeks later, Russini resigned from The Athletic, while Vrabel stepped away from the Patriots for part of the NFL Draft to seek counseling.
The Athletic subsequently concluded that Russini’s undisclosed relationship with Vrabel violated its newsroom standards. The review found little evidence that her reporting showed bias, a distinction also detailed in a recent PFN breakdown.
Vrabel has since returned his focus to football, and ESPN reported that Patriots players and personnel largely followed his lead. New England reached the Super Bowl in his first season at the helm and enters 2026 with eyes on another championship push.
The professional consequences described by women reporters are harder to leave in the offseason.
Coffee meetings, private-source conversations, and the scouting combine are ordinary parts of NFL reporting. If women have to calculate an additional reputational risk before participating, the fallout reaches beyond the two people at the center of the original controversy.
For some women trying to cover the league, the episode has added another obstacle to a job that already had plenty of obstacles.
