Despite being the biggest story in the NFL for 10 days and counting, the photos of Patriots coach Mike Vrabel with former Athletic reporter Dianna Russini have been ignored by most mainstream media outlets.
That changed on Friday, with a deep dive from Ben Strauss of ESPN, the company that previously employed Russini before she was hired by The Athletic.
Among other things, Strauss reports that Russini “coordinated with Vrabel about how to respond” to the initial story from the New York Post, which posted photos of the two of them together at an adults-only resort in Sedona, Arizona on April 7.
That alone could be viewed by The Athletic and its parent, The New York Times, as a potential violation of the very high bar the publications apply to reporters, when it comes to avoiding conflicts of interest. Asking a source who is also a subject of ongoing coverage for, essentially, assistance when it comes to navigating a delicate employment situation arguably creates the appearance of a conflict of interest.
The Times and, by extension, The Athletic arguably prohibit such conduct. As Strauss points out, the companies’ ethics policy states that "[r]elationships with sources require sound judgment to prevent the fact or appearance of partiality. . . . It is essential we preserve a detachment, free of any whiff of bias.”
Working with Vrabel to coordinate their stories arguably creates a “whiff of bias,” at a minimum.
Russini, per Strauss, argued to her employers that the photos amounted to a “sexist attack on a female reporter in a male-dominated field,” and Russini offered to allow her employers to speak to Vrabel. The company declined, per Strauss.
Strauss also reports that “executives asked for more evidence from Russini such as text messages about an airport pickup, screenshots of planning the trip or photos from a hike” with friends. Russini reportedly never provided sufficient evidence to The Athletic.
Russini eventually resigned before the internal investigation concluded. The Athletic has informed staffers that the review will nevertheless continue.
Nick Foles is a beloved figure in Philly. He led the team to its first Super Bowl win. And he hardly has a reputation for being a guy who says controversial things for the sake of attention.
As to the question of the offseason for the Eagles — will they trade receiver A.J. Brown? — Foles has some information. He recently shared it on The SZN with Nick Foles & Evan Moore.
“They have a first-year coordinator in Sean Mannion,” Foles said. “You don’t want to deal with, you know, what they dealt with last year with A.J. Now, A.J. had merit looking back. Like, why was he frustrated? Well, it was the concepts of the offense and how it was [run] with Kevin Patullo. Looking back, that’s maybe what the frustration was. Was it with Jalen Hurts? I don’t know. I’m not in the facility. No idea. But because of those things and different people I know around the league that know A.J. a little bit . . .what I’ve gathered is, [he] wants to be traded, but I also think like he wants to be traded to specific places.
“I think New England would make a lot of sense because of his history [with coach Mike] Vrabel. I think that’s obvious, right? And I think he even said he grew up a Patriots fan, if I’m correct. So that would be like two-fold situation. But really because [G.M. Howie Roseman’s] not shutting it down. That’s a big thing. And he’s gonna have a lot of strategy behind it. He’s gonna get something he wants by — I think it’s going to come to a point where he realized last year was very difficult. This is Howie. And he doesn’t want to do that again with a first-year coordinator. If A.J. Brown’s not happy, which seems like he’s not super happy in Philly, but he’s got to give the lip service to say he is. They’re gonna try to find a way to hopefully make it right for him and make it right for the Eagles. And I’d imagine that Howie really respects A.J. And hopefully A.J. respects Howie to where they try to do right by each other and figure out a way that where A.J.'s happy and the Eagles are happy sort of thing.”
Foles added that, a couple of weeks ago, he thought there was an 80-percent chance Brown would not be traded. Foles said he’s not at “50-50" as to a trade occurring. Based on what Foles said after that, it sounds as if he’s at least at 51-49: “I do think he’ll get traded before the start of the season. Not sure when. I do think the New England Patriots make a lot of sense.”
June 1 continues to be the key date. After June 1, the Eagles would not take a cap acceleration in 2026; any dead money for 2027 and beyond would hit the salary cap in 2027.
And it’s possible that the Eagles already have a wink-nod deal in place with a specific team, perhaps the Patriots, after June 1. If so, there’s no reason for either side to blurt it out before the draft. The Eagles should let other teams think they may not be thinking about taking a receiver with any of their various picks, and the Patriots should let other teams think they could.
After the draft, it can then be announced that, come June 2, Brown will be a Patriot. Pending a physical, as we learned last month.
The 10-day-old story that continues to generate news has created a delicate situation for plenty of people in sports media, and some of those who ostensibly cover sports media. And while true “friends” of hosts and analysts would arguably refrain from doing anything that would put their friends in a tough spot, more than a few people with platforms have decided not to give the topic any oxygen at all.
One member of the sports media occupies a unique position. He’s a radio host during the week on the team’s flagship station. He’s also employed by the Patriots as their game-day radio analyst.
Via Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing, Scott Zolak has had not a thing to say about the situation.
“I’m not going to comment on it,” Zolak said, in the clip from his show on 98.5 The Sports Hub posted by Boston Sports Media critic account on Twitter. “During the football season, multiple times in the offseason, I do things with Mike. And I know Mike. And Mike and I have a good back-and-forth working relationship. I know Mike’s wife, she’s been in some of the meetings. I know Mike’s two sons. I’ve met them, I’ve hung out with them during the football season. I know Dianna Russini. I know the people involved. And I’m in no position to comment on anything that happened between these two. It does me no good. . . .
“I like my jobs. I like working here. I like working with the Patriots. I like doing games. I like doing TV with them. I like being with the team. For me to sit there and cast stones at this guy would not do me great things. So there’s your answer in a nutshell. It’s pretty much like the beat reporters.”
While that’s true on the surface, the deeper reality is that Zolak is the only front-facing Patriots employee with regular access to a microphone. What he says, or doesn’t say, about any given situation involving the franchise can be interpreted as a reflection of the organization’s overall attitude and approach. If so, Zolak’s silence reflects his belief that the team wants it.
Zolak has spoken on other potentially sensitive issues regarding the team. Last May, he talked openly about the possibility the Patriots would cut receiver Stefon Diggs before he ever plays a game for them. Zolak once made a comment about quarterback Cam Newton for which Zolak later apologized. Zolak also said, after quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was traded to the 49ers, that he was “one of the worst practice quarterbacks we’ve had here.”
The point is this. Zolak has in the past said things that, technically, do him no good. His comments, or lack thereof, could fairly be viewed as his assessment of what will, or won’t, fly with those who employ him.
Regarding the current controversy, which has now claimed two jobs, Zolak seems to be doing what he thinks he needs to do in order to avoid joining the list. Even if there are fair comments that Zolak could make regarding the question all Patriots fans care about — whether and to what extent the situation could impact the team when the 2026 season commences.
The Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini situation has now claimed two jobs.
Earlier this week, Russini resigned from The Athletic, a week after photos emerged of her and Vrabel and her employer (after unequivocally supporting her) launched an investigation. Crissy Froyd, a USA Today reporter, offered some comments of her own on Twitter, after Russini resigned.
Now, via the New York Post, USA Today has fired Froyd for her Twitter post about Russini.
“USA TODAY Sports has ended its contractor relationship with Crissy Froyd effective immediately,” the publication said. “Her recent statements do not reflect our commitment to professionalism or uphold our principles of ethical conduct.”
Froyd issued a statement regarding the decision to the Post.
“I want to say firstly that I do not regret anything that I said and that I stand behind the fact it is all indeed true,” Froyd said. “I want to thank USA TODAY SMG for the incredible run I had there for about half of my life. It is deeply, deeply emotional to me that this relationship has come to an end and that my contract has been terminated because of this. I would never say anything I didn’t stand behind because I know the potential consequences, even if a situation seems risky. Thank you to everyone who has supported me both before and after I released my statements.”
While we won’t post the content of Froyd’s remark about Russini here (they’re on Froyd’s Twitter page), it’s important to note that the things Froyd said have not been verified or officially reported by any entity.
Froyd posted on Twitter the email she received ending her relationship with USA Today. She also posted this: “I regret zero of what I said and stand beside it. If you want to talk, my messages are open. My email is operative, too.”
Without access to her contract with USA Today, it’s impossible to know whether statements made by Froyd on Twitter constitute grounds to terminate her contractual relationship. It’s also impossible to know whether USA Today had the ability to end the contract at any time, for any reason.
Still, it’s obvious that the reason for the termination wasn’t Froyd’s work product but her comments about Russini.
It’s a sensitive topic, clearly. There’s a line between objective facts and rumor/innuendo/gossip. It’s why I cautioned my PFT Live co-host to “stay on target” earlier this week — an admonition that some Twitter aggregators viewed as an effort by me to conceal some massive, unknown truth about the situation.
I got dragged for it by folks who know nothing about law, business, and/or basic journalistic standards. They wanted dirt. Something they could clip, post, and profit from.
Sorry, aggregators, but there’s a line. I was reminding my co-host and friend not to get too close to it. And I wasn’t reaching through the camera from 450 miles away to muzzle him. He can say whatever he wants to say, wherever he wants to say it. (As he said on Thursday’s PFT Live, he has already heard from Page Six, apparently in response to my effort to nudge him away from the possibility of saying something that could have caused a problem for him.)
As Froyd has learned, no one knows how a corporate entity is going to react to something that someone blurts out into a live microphone or posts on Twitter. Discretion and accuracy remain important, even if it keeps the aggregators from stealing someone else’s video content in the hopes of making money from it.
The NFL has announced the names of the current and former players that will take part in next week’s draft by announcing second-round picks.
The list includes players associated with all 32 teams, including Cardinals running back James Conner. Conner has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area after playing for the Steelers and attending Pitt, which likely made him an easy choice as the Cardinals’ representative.
Former Bears tackle Jimbo Covert, former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, former Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas, current Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill, former Jets running back Curtis Martin, and former 49ers punter Andy Lee are other Pitt alums who are set to take part.
The hometown team will be represented by four players. Former Steelers Jerome Bettis and John Stallworth will be joined by Joey Porter Sr. and Jr. next Friday.
The other players taking part and their team affiliations appear below:
Falcons: Michael Turner
Ravens: Mark Ingram
Bills: Shane Conlan
Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Bengals: Ken Anderson
Browns: Phil Dawson
Cowboys: Drew Pearson
Broncos: T.J. Ward
Lions: Calvin Johnson
Packers: John Kuhn
Texans: Billy Miller
Colts: Pat McAfee
Jaguars: Paul Posluszny
Raiders: Matt Millen
Chargers: Shawne Merriman
Rams: Tavon Austin
Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Patriots: Deion Branch
Saints: Marques Colston
Giants: Osi Umenyiora
Eagles: Brian Westbrook
Seahawks: Cliff Avril
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber
Titans: Jeffery Simmons
Commanders: Mark Rypien
