In April, the NFL world was stunned by the scandal involving New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and former The Athletic reporter Dianna Russini. The pair’s alleged affair dominated headlines after they were photographed together at an adults-only resort in Arizona.
The ethics of the relationship between Vrabel and Russini have continued to trigger widespread discourse among fans and analysts.
Reporter Claim NFL Coaches and Players Flirted With Her When She Was Underaged
NFL reporter Crissy Froyd appeared on “The Howard Eskin Show” to discuss the Russini-Vrabel scandal. She was fired by USA Today for speaking out about Vrabel and Russini’s alleged relationship, and she also spoke about the dynamic between NFL media and players and coaches.
Froyd alleges that many NFL players and coaches have made advances towards her over the years, including when she was underage.
Eskin asked, “How many players or coaches tried to hit on you?” Froyd replied, “At least 50, I can’t even count.”
“Like I said, I’ve been doing this for like 12 years, so at least 50, including when I was underage,” she added. “But I will give them the benefit of the doubt that maybe they didn’t know that.”
When asked how she responded to the advances, Froyd replied, “It was obviously very uncomfortable, especially when some of them were players from the NFL when I was about 16. So, I was just the age of consent in multiple states, and I didn’t know what to do because I looked older than I was, and so I just kind of tried to not say anything, you know, kind of like dodge it and just kind of leave the conversation.”
Froyd has been outspoken about the NFL’s “culture of corruption” where some female reporters trade “sex for stories.”
“I’ve also been told by at least half a dozen female reporters that they have had sex with NFL staff and, in one case, a prominent NFL head coach, while they were covering the team,” Froyd wrote for The Daily Mail, adding that this is “unfair and demoralizing” for the journalists who do things the right way.
When Eskin asked if she would name any names, Froyd told him, “To avoid any legal dispute, I can’t say any more than that,” she added. “One of them starts with a J. I won’t go any further than that, but just to give you a bit of a tidbit.”
Pictures of Russini and Vrabel holding hands at an adults-only resort in Arizona were published by Page Six on April 7. Russini resigned from The Athletic a week later amid an internal investigation by the outlet.
The timeline of Russini and Vrabel’s relationship allegedly stretched back six years, when the latter was the coach of the Tennessee Titans, as the Page Six also published pictures of the pair kissing in a New York bar.
Then, TMZ added fuel to the fire by sharing a clip of Vrabel and Russini on a private boat trip in Tennessee five years ago when she was pregnant with her first child.
While Russini’s career hangs in limbo, the Patriots have stood by Vrabel even after he stepped away from the team on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft to attend counseling sessions with his family. Also, the NFL has said that it won’t investigate Vrabel since the league is treating it as a personal matter.
