Patriots coach Mike Vrabel responds to The Athletic's Dianna Russini review

Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald on Sep 3, 2026

Published in Football

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FOXBORO, Mass. — Almost five months after photos of Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and former NFL reporter Dianna Russini at an adults-only resort sparked a controversy that led to Russini’s resignation from The Athletic, her former employer completed an internal review of her coverage and determined Thursday that Russini violated the outlet’s journalistic standards by failing to disclose their relationship.

As for his reaction to The Athletic’s findings, Vrabel claimed Thursday he had none.

“I don’t have any reaction,” he said before practice. “We’re moved on and focused on Seattle and focused on the Patriots and focused on getting better this week.”

Asked if he feels the saga is behind him, Vrabel again pivoted to the Patriots’ upcoming season opener at Seattle.

“I tried to just say that I’ve moved on and I’m excited about this new opportunity here as we start this season,” he said.

On April 7, the New York Post published photos of Vrabel and Russini, who are both married to other people, interlocking fingers as they held hands, hugging and sitting together in a pool at an Arizona resort. After both of them vehemently denied any suggestion of impropriety, which Vrabel called “laughable” in an initial statement, more photos were released that indicated a romantic relationship may have been shared for several years. Russini resigned on April 14, and Vrabel made two more ensuing statements that acknowledged hard conversations with his family before he elected to skip Day 3 of the NFL draft to seek counseling.

The Athletic’s internal review maintained Russini did not show favoritism to Vrabel, but even the appearance of an improper relationship was enough to constitute a violation of the publication’s reporting policy. Mike Semel, an editorial director for standards and quality at The Athletic, conducted the review to determine whether Russini’s work was accurate and unbiased. The report claimed Semel studied 903 stories and 77 videos of Russini’s, plus more than 200 podcast episodes and two dozen interviews she did for other media companies.

“Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed,” the report read.

The review described Russini as a well-sourced reporter who was connected to owners, general managers, coaches and players around the NFL.

Russini has not returned to work in the media.