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The Athletic is probing Dianna Russini’s explanation about photos with Mike Vrabel that were published in the New York Post earlier this week, sources told Front Office Sports.
Russini and Vrabel were photographed in late March at a luxury resort in Arizona next to each other in a pool and hot tub, and holding hands and hugging on the rooftop of a private bungalow. The photos were published this week by the Post’s Page Six vertical. FOS previously reported that the photos were shopped around to multiple outlets, including TMZ.
Russini is sidelined during the probe, according to a source familiar with it, and her byline has not appeared on the New York Times-owned site since Tuesday.
Despite the awkward appearances, Russini and Vrabel, who are married to other people and each have two children, both indicated that they were together platonically.
“The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day,” Russini said in a statement to FOS sent via The Athletic. “Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”
Vrabel told Page Six that it was a “completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable.”
The Athletic’s executive editor, Steven Ginsberg, also issued a statement defending the outlet’s senior NFL insider: “These photos are misleading and lack essential context. These were public interactions in front of many people. Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we’re proud to have her at The Athletic.”
Nevertheless, sources told FOS that The Athletic is pressing for proof about Russini’s claim that they were there with other people. In the days since the Post’s story was published, there has been no public evidence to support the claims. Russini posted an Athletic story by another author on Twitter/X on Thursday, but has not published any stories for the outlet since the photos with Vrabel were released on Tuesday.
FOS previously reported that Russini’s contract with The Athletic is up in August. Russini and her agent could not be reached for comment. The Athletic declined to comment.
