Dianna Russini, one of the country’s best-known NFL reporters, resigned from her job at the Athletic on Tuesday amid an ongoing ethics investigation into her relationship with New England Patriots Coach Mike Vrabel.
Page Six, the New York Post’s gossip channel, published photographs on April 7 of Russini hugging, holding hands, and lounging at a hotel pool with Vrabel, a prominent figure who covers regularly in her job as a senior NFL insider.
Jordan Cohen, a spokesman for the New York Times, which owns the Athletic, confirmed in an email that Russini had resigned but did not comment further. A representative for the Patriots did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The Associated Press first reported the news of Russini’s resignation on Tuesday.
Russini posted a resignation letter to social media Tuesday. She wrote that she felt she needed to step away from the job before her contract ended on June 30 so she didn’t give more attention to the allegations of misconduct.
“I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published,” Russini wrote in a letter addressed to the Athletic’s executive editor, Steven Ginsberg.
Ginsberg, who was previously a managing editor at The Washington Post, originally defended Russini to Page Six. “These photos are misleading and lack essential context,” he told the publication. “These were public interactions in front of many people. Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we’re proud to have her at the Athletic.”
However, he also began investigating her conduct — a point he underlined in a Tuesday Slack message to Athletic staffers reviewed by The Post.
“When this situation was brought to our attention last week, there were clear concerns, but we received a detailed explanation and it was our instinct to support and defend a colleague while we continued to review the matter,” he wrote. “As additional information emerged, new questions were raised that became part of our investigation.”
Ginsberg said that the publication’s investigation of Russini is ongoing and will continue under Mike Semel, the Athletic’s editorial director for standards and editorial quality, who was formerly a Washington Post deputy managing editor. Russini, Ginsberg said, resigned of her own accord.
“Over a career spanning more than fifteen years in sports journalism — at NBC, ESPN, and The Athletic — I have built a body of work I am proud of,” Russini wrote in her resignation letter. “I have broken stories, earned the trust of sources across the league, and been guided by the highest standards of professional conduct. That record speaks for itself.”
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