Dianna Russini gets new show months after silence following Mike Vrabel scandal
The NFL insider is preparing for a media comeback, launching her own show after a turbulent year that changed her career path.
Months after leaving her position at The Athletic , Dianna Russini appears ready to return to the media with a new project of her own.
The well-known NFL reporter has reportedly told people around the league that she plans to come back “next week,” according to Pro Football Talk on Wednesday.
A source cited by Page Six said Russini will headline her own show — an opportunity that represents a fresh start in her professional career.
“It’s going to be on a digital platform. It will be launching next week,” the source said. “It’s been in the works for a while and she can’t wait to get back to what she loves.”
It has not yet been revealed whether the program will be an independent project or backed by an established media company.
Dianna Russini returns after the Mike Vrabel controversy
Russini’s comeback comes months after a controversy that put her career under intense scrutiny. In April , Page Six published photographs of the journalist with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel during a stay at a resort in Sedona, Arizona.
The images showed the pair interacting closely — holding hands, hugging, and spending time together by the pool. Page Six later released photos from 2020 in which they appeared together at a bar in New York, raising further questions. Both Russini and Vrabel are married to other people.
Following the controversy, The Athletic (owned by The New York Times) launched an internal investigation, and Russini resigned on April 14 .
Months later, in September, the outlet published the findings of its investigation and concluded that the reporter had violated the company’s editorial standards. However, The Athletic stated that it did not find sufficient evidence to determine that Russini used her platform to benefit Vrabel or favor his teams during her time as a journalist at the site.
Vrabel kept his job as Patriots head coach, though he sought counseling on the final day of the most recent NFL Draft .
Meanwhile, Fox Sports Radio host Jon “Stugotz” Weiner had expressed interest in hiring Russini in May and said “the offer remains open forever.” For now, it is unclear whether this new project will have any connection to the host or his show.
