Make New York Post a Preferred Source Sportswriter Dianna Russini wants you to know something about her alleged affair with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and her departure from the Athletic. In short: She’s the victim.
From afar, I have always had deep respect for Russini. She is obviously a hard worker and a formidable force within the pro football universe.
More than anything, she comes across as a mouthy, ball-busting Jersey girl, who thrives on calling out nonsense.
But all that personality was missing in her ridiculous People interview meant to promote her big return to the fold with her new show, “The Russini Report” on BetUS Tv.
It was soft. It was toothless. It was lacking in self-awareness. It was gar-bage.
Russini takes no responsibility for her actions. She doesn’t address the fact that maybe she acted unethically with a source. Instead, she says she’s an inspiration for women everywhere — by ignoring the whole scandal and moving on to a new job..
“I really hope that I can be someone other women see: you can pick yourself up, get back in there and not be afraid,” she said told the magazine.
Last year, all hell broke loose after Page Six published photos of her and Vrabel getting cozy at a swanky couples retreat in Arizona. The NFL Insider said that nothing had happened between the pair, who are married to other people. Even as more incriminating photos of them emerged.
Russini resigned from The Athletic because she had “no interest in submitting to a public inquiry,” she wrote at the time.
She was defiant. She was also dodging accountability.
And anyone reading the People article would have thought her sidelining was something that just randomly happened to her, not something she actually took part in.
It was as if she was just walking down the street and was mowed down by an out of control affair accusation that put her on injured reserve.
And according to her, the NFL treated her scandal like she had a bad flu. They check on her nonstop, one player texts her at 5 a.m. on his way to work. Even a star quarterback wants to know if she is okay.
“The absolute best part of this situation has been the loyalty the NFL has shown me,” Russini said with a giant humble brag.
“They checked in with me almost daily while I wasn’t working to make sure that I was staying connected to football, to check on me as a person and to just see how I was doing.”
But in this interview she confronts absolutely nothing. She offers no insight into her family life, which probably exploded after the ugly accusations. Instead she paints a rosy picture of a wonderful husband who helped her weather this storm. She also said her ordeal will make her more empathetic in covering players.
“But through it, I did get an opportunity to not just learn about myself, but my family and our priorities,” she said in a feigned effort at self-reflection.
I don’t begrudge her return. Like most football fans, I was expecting it. Especially in this internet media landscape where most platforms aren’t bound by the same ethics of a legacy institution.
Russini would have been better off just announcing she was back and skipping this lame effort to power wash her reputation.
Because the water pressure was set to the left of zero.
It would have been more authentic had she said: life is messy. I love my job. Let’s get back to work. Instead she tried to spin a phony fairytale of resilience and overcoming.
