Longtime NFL reporter Dianna Russini is stepping down from her senior position at The Athletic one week after Page Six published bombshell photos of her canoodling with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
Russini announced her resignation on Tuesday in a letter posted to X.
“I have decided to step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30,” she wrote. “I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”
The veteran reporter defended her record, citing more than 15 years in sports journalism at NBC, ESPN, and The Athletic.
“I have built a body of work I am proud of. 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,” she wrote.
Russini said The Athletic, which is owned by The New York Times, initially stood by her account of events that took place in March at a boutique hotel in Sedona, Arizona. However, she said subsequent media coverage fueled speculation she described as “unmoored from the facts.”
“This media frenzy is hurtling forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is trying to complete,” she added. “It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept.”
In a memo shared with The Athletic staff, Executive Editor Steven Ginsberg confirmed Russini’s resignation and said the outlet took the situation seriously from the start.
“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,” Ginsberg wrote. “As additional information emerged, new questions were raised that became part of our investigation.”
Page Six reported that Russini and Vrabel were spotted together at the Ambiente hotel on March 28. According to the outlet, they had breakfast, spent time by the pool, side-by-side in a hot tub, and were later photographed on a private rooftop area. The photos showed them holding hands and standing face-to-face, with the outlet also reporting they briefly danced together.
Russini and Vrabel are both married. Russini has been married to Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt since 2020; the couple shares two sons. Vrabel has been married to his wife, Jen, since 1999, after the two met at Ohio State. They have two sons as well.
In separate statements to Page Six, Russini and Vrabel both downplayed their interactions.
Russini said the photos “don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day.”
Vrabel described the situation as an “innocent interaction” and called the images “laughable.”
Russini joined The Athletic in 2023 after a successful tenure at ESPN, where she covered the Tennessee Titans during Vrabel’s tenure as head coach.
Vrabel is coming off a Super Bowl appearance in his first season as head coach of the Patriots.
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