Add Page Six on Google Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel aren’t letting the Athletic’s findings into their alleged affair ruffle their feathers.
Russini and Vrabel both gave their reaction to the Athletic publishing the results of their internal investigation into her work Thursday, in which they dubbed her relationship with New England Patriots coach a “clear violation” of newsroom standards.
Russini told the Athletic in a statement, “I stand by any and all reporting I’ve ever done in my career.”
Vrabel was also asked about the report Thursday in a press conference, to which he responded, “No, I don’t have any reaction to that.”
Dianna Russini/Instagram “We’re moved on and focused on Seattle and focused on the Patriots and focused on getting better this week,” he continued.
Mike Semel, the Athletic’s editorial director for standards and editorial quality, wrote in the outlet’s report published on the company’s website, “Regardless of whether the relationship [between Russini and Vrabel] was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed.”
But he also noted, “I’ve not found a clear link to conclude that Russini used her platform to help promote Vrabel or help his teams during her time at The Athletic.”
“That said, there are examples of Russini writing glowingly of Vrabel that in hindsight are awkward or even uncomfortable.”
Semel, who reviewed 903 stories, 77 videos and 204 episodes of the “Scoop City” podcast, noted that “the vast majority of Russini’s work for The Athletic had nothing to do with Vrabel, the teams he was coaching or the players the team was pursuing.”
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