UPDATE: The Athletic FINALLY Releases The Findings From Their Dianna Russini & Mike Vrabel Investigation And The Results Are Shocking

Been a minute since we've heard anything about the Vrabel/Russini rabbit hole. Ran hard and put away wet as they say. I guess The Athletic is just very thorough in their internal investigations. They've been burning the midnight oil since April on this shit brother! Good job, good effort by them trying to stretch it out SO long that people stopped caring. It was a worthy attempt. 

And yet, MANY questions remain for anyone with a functioning brain. Did she improperly use her Big J Journalistic powers when it came to leaking Vrabel related information? How were her AP Votes for NFL Awards affected by that alleged affair? Why did Adam Schefter & all the other NFL insiders close ranks and downright refuse to cover any updates on this drama? Is every reporter just sucking off coaches for easy gossip? Or were these alleged throatings just for the love of the game? 

So many questions, and PLENTY of time to answer them all... So let's see what the powers that be discovered out there about their own employee...

Giphy Images.

Wow there you have it! What a shocking result. So there was NO clear bias towards Mike Vrabel at all? Looks like the haters are gonna be sick! I'm even a little surprised myself. Really thought they would've discovered way more smoke & fire after interviewing Dianna and going through her phone. Oh wait… they didn't do either of those things? Bu still pooped out an article vindicating their own company whilst trying to sweep everything under the rug? 

Big J Journalism, STAND UP!

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(SOURCE) - On April 7, 2026, Russini reached out to executives at The Athletic and The New York Times Company to tell them of an impending Page Six (New York Post) article that would suggest a romantic relationship between Russini and Mike Vrabel, the head coach of the New England Patriots. The story would be based on photographs of the pair together, taken at a Sedona, Ariz., resort, and the photos would accompany the piece. Russini acknowledged a close relationship with Vrabel, but stressed that it was strictly professional. Russini also said there would be no other questionable pictures of her and Vrabel because she had never done anything inappropriate.

The Athletic publicly supported Russini as it began an internal investigation of the allegations. During that investigation, Russini resigned from The Athletic and was released from her contract on April 14, 2026. The Athletic ended its investigation into Russini’s personal conduct on that day because she was no longer employed by the company, but continued its investigation into her journalism because nothing is more important to The Athletic than its credibility and reader trust.

For the purposes of this report, I reviewed 903 stories and 77 videos published on The Athletic site and app that carried Russini’s byline, co-byline, a contributor line or a mention of her reporting. I reviewed 204 episodes of the Scoop City podcast, produced by The Athletic and co-hosted by Russini. I watched or listened to about 25 off-platform appearances or interviews for which she was in some way representing The Athletic. I interviewed approximately 14 Athletic staffers who had worked most closely with Russini at the publication. I also reviewed about 75 stories to evaluate how The Athletic’s coverage of certain events involving Vrabel or his teams compared to coverage in other publications.

So lemme get this straight… The Athletic simply scrolled through Twitter & listened to some shitty podcast episodes to put together this iron clad report exonerating their own company? And they expect this to hold any value in the court of public opinion? Jesus H. Christ man. Journalists really are dumber than I thought. What sneaky slimey scumbag behavior. 

Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards. Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed. Specifically, when it comes to The Athletic’s standards, Russini was noncompliant:

“When reporting and writing stories we do not have an agenda and it is important that our readers understand that. If our readers question our adherence to that basic tenet of journalism, our credibility will be at stake. To maintain the highest form of authority we should avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest and reveal those sources or affiliations that may put into question our ability to be credible.”

Additionally, when first confronted with the photos by The New York Post, Russini waited two days before telling her editors and managers. She then told a story to explain the photos that did not align with facts, raising issues of trust.

Not sure how you can claim your employee clearly breached morale ethics & journalistic standards but then not actually investigate what the hell actually happened out there. What a fucking joke. Gotta wonder if this means she'll be back in the scoop city saddle sooner than later now too. Not sure why any newsroom would let her waltz back in like nothing happened. People do NOT forget. Especially when you foolishly leave this many breadcrumbs out there. 

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And with my luck she'll be hired at Barstool SPORTS sometime this fall. If that does come to fruition, I hope she understands all my blogs covering her demented drama were truly nothing personal. If anything, she should sympathize with my sheer unbridled desire to do anything to rack up pageviews. Although I've never found myself staring down a sweaty hog to do so. YET. 

But hey, maybe that's just life trying to make a name for yourself in the NFL. Anything given Sunday in Sedona as they say. Choose LOVE.