The Athletic finds reporter Russini violated policy with Vrabel

Mike Vrabel led the New England Patriots from 4-13 to a Super Bowl appearance in his first season in Foxborough. He also spent much of that offseason at the center of a personal scandal that reached deep into NFL locker rooms and press boxes.

The Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini scandal was the talk of the NFL world during the offseason, but it gradually faded from the spotlight as training camp approached. But with the new season set to begin, the controversy is once again emerging from the shadows, with Vrabel’s New England Patriots facing the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in the 2026 NFL season opener.

Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots moved past the Dianna Russini scandal. Others are still feeling its effects.

The Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel controversy has been one of the biggest storylines of the 2026 offseason. What started with Russini and Vrabel being spotted together at a resort in Sedona, Arizona, in April quickly escalated.

The latest in the saga between Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini came just a week before the start of the NFL season. Here's how it all unfolded.

Mike Vrabel was asked about The Athletic's investigation into Dianna Russini on Wednesday, Sept. 3, after the findings were released.

Five months after a tabloid first published photos showing NFL insider Dianna Russini cozying up to New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at a resort in northern Arizona, The Athletic this week released its long-awaited internal report on whether their relationship affected Russini’s reporting. In the report, the outlet’s standards editor writes that “Russini’s…

Mike Vrabel had no interest in dicussing The Athletic's findings in its investigation into Dianna Russini.

The Athletic published the findings of its internal review of Dianna Russini's reporting on Thursday, several months after the release of pictures that revealed her relationship with Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.

The Athletic published the findings of its internal review of Dianna Russini's reporting on Thursday, several months after the release of pictures that revealed her relationship with Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.

The report drew no conclusions about the nature of Russini’s relationship with Vrabel, who said he took accountability for his actions without addressing photos released of the coach and the reporter at a resort in Arizona.

The Athletic found its former NFL reporter Dianna Russini wrote in an “awkward” and “uncomfortable” manner about coach Mike Vrabel — based on a relationship with him that she should’ve disclosed, the New York Times-owned digital sports publication said Thursd…

Dianna Russini's former company reviewed 903 stories, 204 podcasts and 77 videos as part of an internal review into her relationship with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.

Russini resigned from her role at The Athletic after photos of her and Vrabel began circulating

The Athletic’s internal investigation found that the relationship between former NFL reporter Dianna Russini and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was in “clear violation” of the newsroom’s standards. Mike Semel, the Athletic’s editorial director for standards and quality, wrote that he was unable to find signs of clear bias or determine the exact “nature of their relationship”, but said it gave the appearance of a conflict of interest. “Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards,” Semel wrote.

NFL reporter resigned after fallout from photo scandal Patriots coach, Russini were pictured at Arizona resort Investigation unable to find ‘exact nature’ of relationship The Athletic’s internal investigation found that the relationship between former NFL reporter Dianna Russini and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was in “clear violation” of the newsroom’s standards. The outlet, which is owned by the New York Times, released a report Thursday detailing the findings of a five-months-long investigation. Mike Semel, the Athletic’s editorial director for standards and quality, wrote that he was unable to find signs of clear bias in her coverage or determine the exact “nature of their relationship”, but said it gave the appearance of a conflict of interest. Continue reading...

An investigation by The Athletic has concluded that former NFL reporter Dianna Russini violated the company’s standards because of her relationship with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel that led to her resignation in April. The report drew no conclusions about the nature of Russini’s relationship with Vrabel, who said he took accountability for his actions without addressing photos released of the coach and the reporter at a resort in Arizona.

On Thursday, The Athletic released its findings from an internal investigation into Russini's reporting and relationship with Vrabel.

‘It was a breach and should have been disclosed,’ the report stated

On Thursday, The Athletic released its findings from the investigation into Dianna Russini’s unprofessional relationship with New England Patriots head […]

Former Athletic reporter Dianna Russini's relationship with Mike Vrabel violated newsroom standards but showed no clear bias toward the Patriots head coach, the Athletic said Thursday.

Earlier this year, news broke of what appeared to be a relationship between longtime NFL insider Diana Russini and New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel. Russini has since resigned from her role with The Athletic, and now an internal investigation at the outlet has finally concluded. On Thursday, The Athletic finally released the findings of…

Since April, The Athletic has been conducting a review of the work Dianna Russini produced while employed by the company and whether it was affected by her seeming years-long affair with NFL head coach Mike Vrabel. The long-awaited report, reviewed this week by Awful Announcing, was published Thursday, providing the strongest insight yet into how…