The NFL news cycle was supposed to be relatively idle until the 2026 NFL draft commences on April 23.
Page Six had other plans.
On Tuesday, the news outlet dropped the bombshell photos showing New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel with The Athletic senior NFL insider Dianna Russini at the Ambiente resort in Sedona, Arizona. The photos captured Russini and Vrabel hugging and hanging out poolside, which, by themselves, doesn’t prove anything.
Later on Tuesday, Russini and Vrabel provided statements to Page Six in which they both vehemently reject any innuendo. Vrabel called the whole thing “laughable,” and The Athletic publicly stood behind Russini against the “misleading” photos.
Dan Le Batard issued an impassioned defense of his friend and former ESPN colleague, and he wasn’t the only public figure to give Russini the benefit of the doubt. It started to feel like the general public may be overreacting, even if Mike Florio begged Pablo Torre to investigate for his acclaimed “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast.
The story took a twist on Friday night.
Page Six reported that The New York Times, which platforms The Athletic, has sidelined Russini while the publication investigates, including “reviewing her coverage.”
An unnamed source told Page Six that The Athletic began an investigation after the outlet reached out to Russini for comment.
The source said that The Athletic executive director Steven Ginsberg had questions after the photos were released, but “an initial review suggested the images provided lacked context,” such as “the group of six people who were hanging out during the day,” as Russini said in her official statement on Tuesday.
However, “new details” raised “additional concern” that prompted further review.
TMZ’s Michael J. Babcock posted a very similar report, as read below:
“Confirmed Dianna Russini will NOT be reporting for The Athletic as they conduct d a deeper probe into the Mike Vrabel photos. It was put to me like this: ‘Her coverage is being reviewed. That process is expected to take time. She will not be reporting in the interim.’ Behind-the-scenes, DR told the powers that be the story was bull. They believed her. The outlet publicly supported her, and so did her boss Steven Ginsberg. Now, additional info has come to light, and while they initially saw no reason to doubt Russini, that’s no longer the case. Thus, she’s on the shelf.”
Russini has been married since 2020, and Vrabel has been married since 1999. She worked at ESPN for eight years before leaving for The Athletic in August 2023.
Vrabel is entering his second season as Patriots head coach. In 2025, he won Coach of the Year for leading the Patriots to a surprising 14-3 regular-season record and reached Super Bowl LX, where the Seattle Seahawks humiliated New England 29-13. Vrabel previously won three Super Bowls as a linebacker for the Patriots in the early 2000s.
It should be noted that The Athletic’s investigation does not automatically mean Russini is guilty of any unprofessional or ill-advised conduct. It’s generally standard practice and could just be a precautionary measure.
Regardless, Pablo Torre confirmed he’s “making calls” to get to the bottom of the Russini-Vrabel story, so we should know everything short of their Social Security numbers in seven to 10 business days.
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