The Athletic found that former senior NFL reporter Dianna Russini violated the outlet’s journalistic standards by failing to disclose her relationship with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
The New York Times-owned sports outlet said Thursday that the relationship created the appearance of a conflict of interest and should have been disclosed. The Athletic did not determine whether the relationship was romantic, but concluded that it was a breach of its standards regardless.
“Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic,” The Athletic said in its report, “it was a breach and should have been disclosed.”
The findings follow a monthslong investigation launched in April after Page Six published photos showing Russini and Vrabel together at a luxury hotel in Sedona, Arizona. Russini told her editors at the time that their relationship was “close” but “strictly professional.”
The Athletic initially defended Russini before opening an investigation into her work. Russini resigned from the outlet on April 14, saying she stood by her reporting and did not want to participate in what she called a “public inquiry.” The Athletic continued reviewing her journalism after her departure.
Editorial director for standards and editorial quality Mike Semel examined 903 articles, 77 videos, 204 episodes of Russini’s podcast and roughly two dozen appearances on other platforms. The review found that 5% of her work included mentions of Vrabel or his teams and that none contained inaccuracies. It also concluded that Russini had a wide network of NFL sources beyond Vrabel and the Patriots.
But the review raised concerns about the tone of some of Russini’s coverage, describing some of her comments about Vrabel as “gushing” and “effusive.” The report said examples of Russini writing positively about Vrabel appeared “awkward or even uncomfortable” in hindsight.
The Athletic also said Russini gave editors an explanation for the photos that “did not align with facts, raising issues of trust.” The outlet said she violated its policy requiring journalists to disclose sources or affiliations that could call their credibility into question.
The controversy continued after Russini’s resignation, with The New York Times examining her reporting practices in June.
The Athletic’s review recommended additional newsroom safeguards, including requiring new editorial employees to meet with its standards editor and encouraging editors to pay closer attention to reporters’ recurring use of the same sources.
A Patriots spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.