April 15, 2026
NFL Reporter Resigns From Job After Questionable Photos With Patriots’ Head Coach
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RSS Feed The senior NFL reporter for the New York Time’s sports publication, The Athletic, has resigned her position because of the “media frenzy” around photos published showing her with New England Patriots Head Coach, Mike Vrabel. 42-year-old Dianna Russini, a married mom of two, is seen holding hands and hugging Vrabel at a resort in Sedona, Arizona. Initially, both Russini and Vrabel have made statements suggesting the photos are misleading and taken out of context, but Russini made the surprising move to resign from her prominent position.
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00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Wednesday, April fifteenth, and just a week ago, pictures were published of an NFL coach with an NFL reporter. Today, that NFL reporter is out of a job, not because she was fired over the pictures, but she has resigned. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ with Robes. We need to be careful, we need to be kind, We need to be as respectful as possible in a situation like this where so many lives and so many families right now are upended. But this was a story that caught fire. How much had you been keeping up with this story about New England Patriots coach Mike Rabel and NFL reporter Russini? Is her name, Diana Russini? But how closely? How much was this in your orbit? Sometimes you are aware of some of the stuff more than I ails.
00:00:54
Speaker 2: I was aware of it.
00:00:55
Speaker 3: I was reading about it, I saw the photos, but it really didn't rise to the level until she resigned. That's when I really took notice, because this wasn't somebody who was fired from her job or discipline. There is an investigation that is continuing by the way she worked for the Athletic, which is the New York Times owned sports publication, a very well respected This is a big deal.
00:01:18
Speaker 2: This was a big job.
00:01:19
Speaker 3: She was the senior NFL reporter, and so for her to resign on her own absolutely caught my attention.
00:01:27
Speaker 1: Well that is now, But I'm saying I wasn't keeping up with I don't know how much of this story was bubbling. It was absolutely a tabloid story. Yeah, that's fair. Yes, and tabloids were covering it because of the pictures that came out. It wasn't necessarily a main stream story, if you will, until we started hearing about investigations and now a resignation. Let's start at the top robes with the photos in the first place, if people are not familiar, Mike Rabel is the head coach of the New England Patriots, a storied franchise at this point, but he is now going into his second year. In his first year, he was named NFL Coach of the Year and took his team to the Super Bowl. They lost. But Robes say all that to say he is a very big, identifiable representative of the NFL and one of its biggest franchises.
00:02:24
Speaker 2: Yes, and he is in a lot of ways.
00:02:27
Speaker 3: Yes, larger than life, just by his resume and what he's done and what he's accomplished, But even physically, he's not somebody you can miss, like in a crowd.
00:02:36
Speaker 2: So it's interesting.
00:02:37
Speaker 3: All of these pictures were taken without their knowledge, it's very obvious, but at a luxury Arizona resort, and they were in public, and that was part of their defense. They were out in public and the pictures they claim were misleading, but it basically shows the two of them holding hands at one point looks like they were maybe dancing on a rooftop.
00:02:59
Speaker 2: Embracing, and then sitting in.
00:03:01
Speaker 3: The hotel's hot tub, and also lounging in the pool in loungers next to each other.
00:03:06
Speaker 1: And again, if you don't know Diana Russini, a lot of folks might not necessarily know the name, might not know her face. But she was a long time reporter at ESPN, was there at least a decade, I do believe, and then she moved over to the Athletic where she's been for the past few years. She does have a high profile spot over there, and she does cover the NFL. Therein lies the problem. So the pictures first and foremost, Robes. They anybody, it's up for interpretation of what you see in those photos and what you see in those photos Robes, at least in two of them. It's hard to suggest, just by common sense that those are two people who are not involved romantically. The hugging photo, and then they have both hands in each other's and you said almost dancing. It's hard to look at the pictures and think anything else.
00:04:06
Speaker 2: It doesn't look platonic.
00:04:08
Speaker 3: Now there's no smoking gun, there's no sexualized interaction where you think, oh wow. But it does look like a couple on a romantic getaway in a beautiful, stunning setting about I believe, about two hours drive away from where they had been working, I guess in the Phoenix area. So it looks like a romantic, luxurious getaway for a couple in love.
00:04:32
Speaker 1: Okay, fine, knock yourselves out. The issue for others is that these two are married to other people. Fine, none of us know what's going on in any of those relationships. None of us understands at all that background. But Robes. The reason this has now risen to a level is initially their response to the photos flies in the face of what you see. You can't necessarily, Robes make the two things line up. Their initial comments and the pictures.
00:05:09
Speaker 2: Yes, their initial comments.
00:05:11
Speaker 3: Basically, Russini said that she was there on a hiking trip with two other girlfriends, and that he was there with other friends.
00:05:19
Speaker 2: I believe they said there was a party of six.
00:05:21
Speaker 3: Basically, it wasn't just the two of them. There were four other people involved on the trip. He had a friend or two and she had two friends. The problem is there are no photos showing any other people, and they were taken over a series of several hours and it was just the two of them, and according to some of the publications that when they talked to other guests, they were never seen with anyone other than each other.
00:05:47
Speaker 1: Okay again, not you. You are adult folks, right, and this has now come out and this is now public. Rabel's response Coach Rabel initially Robes is he was a little dismissive. I guess very much, you could say. And it also flies in the face of what our own I see. I don't need to question them at all. If these pictures that come out and they never made a statement, I just don't care knock themselves out that's to y'all your spouses each other. Go ahead, but Robes that statement he made, I mean, yeah, who you think you're talking?
00:06:23
Speaker 3: Coach Brabel said, these photos show a completely innocent interaction, and any suggestion otherwise is laughable.
00:06:35
Speaker 1: That's completely innocent. And look, I don't, fine, fine, don't say anything. But to tell grown folks, I mean, we're looking at it's a guy.
00:06:48
Speaker 3: You don't usually hold hands and look lovingly in someone's eyes on a rooftop in a picturesque. But like maybe they were practicing dance moves for something that she was doing later. I mean, there could be an innocent explanation, it just doesn't look like one. So to say that the pictures are completely innocent maybe requires, if you're going to comment at all, a little further explanation.
00:07:12
Speaker 2: Okay.
00:07:12
Speaker 1: So he called it laughable and initially Robes. The Athletic stood by her. They even said these photos are misleading and lack essential contexts. These were public interactions in front of many people. Diana as a premier journalist covering the NFL, and we're proud to have her at the Atlantic. But record scratch, something has now taken place. Something has happened. It's gone a little further and she has resigned Robes. She wasn't suspended, but there was an investigation that it seems like now Robes she wanted to get ahead of before it found out whatever it might find out. But she posted a lengthy resignation letter online yesterday Robes, and she addressed a lot of stuff. The thing she did not address is whether or not the things that are being talked about and the rumors or whatever else are true or not. Rose there has not been a denial, and that.
00:08:10
Speaker 3: Has been very glaring. The fact that neither one of them have said anything that would be yes considered a flat out denial that anything untoward was going on. So this is what she wrote in her resignation letter. Please accept this letter as my resignation from the Athletic, effective immediately. I have come to this decision with deep sadness, but with clarity about what is right for me, my family, and the work I have spent my career building. You and I have already publicly addressed the recent attacks against me, and I have nothing to add publicly to what we have said. I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published. When the page six item first appeared, the Athletic supported me unequivocally expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism.
00:09:03
Speaker 2: For that, I am grateful In the days that followed.
00:09:06
Speaker 3: Unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.
00:09:16
Speaker 2: Moreover, this media frenzy.
00:09:18
Speaker 3: Is hurtling forward without regard for the review process the Athletic is trying to complete. It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept. Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now before my current contract expires on June thirtieth.
00:09:43
Speaker 2: I do so not because I.
00:09:45
Speaker 3: Accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career. Over a career spending more than fifteen years in sports journalism at NBC, ESPN and The Athletic, I have built a body of work I am proud of. I have broken stories or in the trust of sources across the league, and been guided by the highest standards of professional conduct.
00:10:12
Speaker 2: That record speaks for itself.
00:10:14
Speaker 3: I remain grateful to the athletic and for the extraordinary colleagues with whom I have worked there, for the platform it provided, and for the support you showed me during this difficult time. I wish you nothing but continued success and look of Note, she never once said I categorically deny any affair with with coach sorry coach rabel Like. She never once denies it or says.
00:10:39
Speaker 1: She doesn't have to. I mean she doesn't have to.
00:10:42
Speaker 3: But by not doing it, is that creating more? Is she fueling more speculation?
00:10:45
Speaker 2: Of course she is.
00:10:46
Speaker 1: We would not have touched the story. We wouldn't have. She's got something going on with her husband. He's got something going on with his wife. I don't know. I don't understand. Knock yourselves out, suss that out.
00:10:59
Speaker 3: All.
00:10:59
Speaker 1: That's a y'all. If they want to do whatever they want to do it. I'm just saying I am not, and I get how this goes. We get to a subnegree more than most robes, but it became a story when she resigned because of pictures that were posted. So now I am very curious and interested. Why did she resign, Why should she have to resign? Why is this happening? And the answer she gives for it robes. She doesn't have to say anything else, anything at all about this story, and we don't have to speculate at all. But she had a long opportunity here to speak to the public. She had a long opportunity here to say a simple thing, and she said it Robes in compound sentences and using words that you don't use, and it's almost to make you confused about her non denial dens who talks like this when you're saying commentators in various media have engaged in self feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.
00:12:12
Speaker 3: Unmoored from the facts, What does that mean that there's some truth to it, but it's not all true, but some of it could be true. And the point being is you and I just know from experience a picture, yes can say a lot of different things that aren't true, or you do need context, or you do need background information.
00:12:28
Speaker 2: We fully know what that feels like.
00:12:30
Speaker 3: But hell, no, would we have ever resigned our positions when we knew we did nothing wrong.
00:12:36
Speaker 2: So that's I guess where we're coming from.
00:12:38
Speaker 1: Yes, it continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry, inquiry that has already calls former damage.
00:12:48
Speaker 2: I just then put it to bed and say this did not happen.
00:12:51
Speaker 1: Here is the one that got me. I resign, but I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed.
00:12:59
Speaker 2: Around It's nebulous.
00:13:03
Speaker 1: That's what I mean, babe. And again Rusini, lady, you can do whatever you want to do, that's fine, but you don't have to admit anything to me. But she's not denying. She's telling us all we talk about this sometimes with the Trump administration.
00:13:17
Speaker 3: Bro.
00:13:18
Speaker 1: It's not to get all this muddy too much. But this thing where my eyes see something and you decide to tell me something else that what I'm seeing is not true, And that got my attention on this story. If you just stay quiet, I'd have moved on. But she's telling me that there is a narrative that has been constructed around this episode that I do not accept. Roads all you have to say is, yeah, pictures look crazy, look bad. We were hanging out, but nothing is going on.
00:13:48
Speaker 3: And you wouldn't resign if there was nothing to the photos and there was nothing to the narrative. Why would you you would? For your own good name, your reputation, your children. She has two children, a husband of six years, you would stay, honestly, I would imagine just for that, just to say, hey, I hate leaving.
00:14:06
Speaker 2: I didn't do anything wrong. End of story.
00:14:08
Speaker 1: The resignation is tough, and I hate that. All of them are a bunch of people going through something right now. Don't completely understand it Rowlands, But nobody wants to do this. This is she doesn't want to lose this job. She didn't want to leave this, of course not.
00:14:23
Speaker 3: And the question is does coach Rabel have any thing to have to say or answer to now that she's resigned, Because now questions can be asked of him who stays in his position.
00:14:34
Speaker 1: Those questions are going to be asked. We will answer them next. Is there a double standard? Should something also happen to New England Patriots head coach Mike Rabel's there?
00:14:57
Speaker 3: Welcome back everyone to this episode of amy and TJ. We are talking about that NFL reporter with the Athletic resigning a week.
00:15:05
Speaker 2: After photos were published of her.
00:15:09
Speaker 3: Alongside New England Patriots coach Mike Rabel. Initially, both of them said, there's nothing to them, this has been misconstrued, This isn't a big deal.
00:15:19
Speaker 2: Things kind of went quiet.
00:15:21
Speaker 3: We knew that the Athletic was investigating because clearly they have a policy they don't want anyone, any journalist, frankly, to be fraternizing off the field or having any sort of potential relationship, even if it's platonic with someone who you have to report on. That would violate ethics and codes of mode of operation, the ethic code that most journalistic entities have in place, and so they were investigating whether or not she broke any ethics violations merely by hanging out with him off the job.
00:15:53
Speaker 1: Okay, you not supposed to have a conflict of interest, But they go further robes you're not even so sposed to have the appearance of a conflict of interest. So they could eventually, i mean, the affair of their dating or not, could argue that you are obviously looking like there is a conflict of interest, that you should have avoided this. Oh, she could have been suspended of something else. It doesn't if she's not, again Robes. It's just that wouldn't have risen to the level that she felt she needed to resign.
00:16:23
Speaker 3: Yes, if it were just an innocent meeting where she claims she was with two girlfriends. She claims he had two guy friends and that the pictures just happened to show them alone, but there was a group with them. If that were actually true, and I'm not saying it isn't, it would be bizarre that she would resign over that. And we should point out the Athletic and the New York Times that owns the Athletic is continuing this investigation. Just because she has resigned doesn't mean they aren't still looking into her work to make sure that nothing that she ever published was compromised based on the even appearance of a conflict of interest. Yes, but this resignation is her choice. And yet, what's gonna happen with Mike Frabel?
00:17:06
Speaker 1: Nothing? Absolutely nothing. First year as a head coach, he almost won a Super Bowl. Nothing's gonna happen to Mike Vrabel, like at all? Like even the headlines might not even be bad against Mike Frabel. Look, there is a policy at that she has to adhere too. What policy to them? There are plenty of athletes that end up we see their mugshots and they still play on Sunday. Right. This guy is incredibly They went fourteen in three robes. He's incredibly valuable to this franchise. He also won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots. He is beloved there and especially by Robert Kraft. What's going to happen to him? What's going to happen if the NFL tries to call one of their own on having an affair?
00:17:55
Speaker 2: Really, yeah, I see the look.
00:17:57
Speaker 3: If you could see the look on TJ's face right now, it's incredib.
00:18:00
Speaker 1: Put him out to Ooh, we got to get him out of here. We gotta get Vrabel out of the league. Did just see this stop?
00:18:08
Speaker 3: He was holding hands with an NFL sideline reform?
00:18:11
Speaker 1: Okay, we've seen NFL players do much worse on video and still catch passes two weeks later.
00:18:17
Speaker 2: So the same rule applies for coaches in the league. Winning coaches. I should point out.
00:18:21
Speaker 1: There is no that this is well, it's going to be a little embarrassing. He skipped one press event. I think on Monday of this week. I think they have a pre draft NFL draft. Think that's next week that his team will be He's gonna get asked, clearly.
00:18:37
Speaker 3: Reporters are going to follow up because now it's fair game, the fact that she's resigned. They're gonna want him to comment on it. They're gonna want him to react to it. What's he gonna say, don't know.
00:18:48
Speaker 1: He might say, I'm done talking about it. I've said what I've said on it, moving on to other matters. Keep Peppernham, I've said what I'm going to say about it, move on to other matters, and eventually they're going to have to stop talking. Now he might have to say something to his team, he might have to say something to his front office. But other than that, what has he done. He's Oh, my goodness, he has brought such shame upon the league.
00:19:12
Speaker 3: He says, with dripping with sarcasms.
00:19:14
Speaker 1: But folks will say there is some kind of a double standard. She's been held to some different standard than the man. Well, a journalist versus a coach is a different standard.
00:19:26
Speaker 3: Yes, and she did choose to hold herself to that standard.
00:19:29
Speaker 2: Whatever that was.
00:19:30
Speaker 3: I actually have to give the athletic so much kudos because can you imagine if this same grace was extended to us and we were allowed to actually say what we went through. They actually said, while the situation was brought to our attention last week, there were clear concerns, but we received a detailed explanation, and it was our instinct to support and defend a colleague while we continue to review the matter.
00:19:55
Speaker 2: Matter. That's impressive.
00:19:57
Speaker 1: It's strong to read that obviously if only oh yeah, that's stung a little bit, but I get that. And then upon further information or investigation, they it continued, but they didn't take action. They not a suspension, they didn't pull her from anything.
00:20:12
Speaker 3: No, they chose to take her word for it and then do an independent investigation. That is the correct way to handle something like this. I thought it was impressive to hear that that's how they decided to handle it. Now, she wasn't permitted to report during the investigation, so that was one thing that she had to basically be sidelined while the investigation was taking place. But that makes sense as well, and it was her choice to resign.
00:20:43
Speaker 2: At the end.
00:20:44
Speaker 3: Of it.
00:20:44
Speaker 1: Look, these stories were these are two people doing whatever they were doing, and who are we or anybody else to say what they were doing was right or wrong. I have no idea what's going on in any of their lives, and there their homes, I do not know. But this thing people are like. Lives are being changed, a franchise could be upended, a reporter has lost a job, the athletic is being impacted. All these things roll because somebody at some resort decided to take a picture of two people in a private moment and send it to a tabloid. Again, everybody can make the argument, well, they deserve it because they were doing something wrong. Look, if it's just I hate that, and all the right the dominoes start to fall just based on somebody who is in a resort, like mind your own damn.
00:21:33
Speaker 2: Business, Good luck with that.
00:21:35
Speaker 3: Everyone considers themselves citizen journalists and they've got those phones and they're ready to take pictures at any point. And the point is you could actually be doing something innocent or not do anything wrong, and still it can be construed a different way. Unfortunately, she has chosen to remove herself from the dialogue.
00:21:54
Speaker 2: But that is causing, of course, a lot more chatter. That's the problem with that.
00:21:59
Speaker 3: When you make a move like this, now you're actually creating the headline.
00:22:02
Speaker 1: I can't say enough with these are grown folks. Ye do your thing, not defending anything they did, but not attacking them for anything they did, because we actually do not know what is going on.
00:22:16
Speaker 2: And that's so true.
00:22:16
Speaker 1: But Diana Russini is giving us some insight by making a decision to give up a job that she loved. I just loved robes, but worked and fought a long time to.
00:22:29
Speaker 2: Get Yeah, yeah, no, it's so true. So we certainly wish her the best.
00:22:34
Speaker 3: We'll be looking to hear if we hear anything from Mike Rabel, but to your point, probably it's not.
00:22:39
Speaker 2: Going to be a lot.
00:22:41
Speaker 3: We appreciate you listening to us as always, everybody, I'm Amy Roboc alongside TJ.
00:22:45
Speaker 2: Holmes. We will talk to you soon.
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Wednesday, April fifteenth, and just a week ago, pictures were published of an NFL coach with an NFL reporter. Today, that NFL reporter is out of a job, not because she was fired over the pictures, but she has resigned. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ with Robes. We need to be careful, we need to be kind, We need to be as respectful as possible in a situation like this where so many lives and so many families right now are upended. But this was a story that caught fire. How much had you been keeping up with this story about New England Patriots coach Mike Rabel and NFL reporter Russini? Is her name, Diana Russini? But how closely? How much was this in your orbit? Sometimes you are aware of some of the stuff more than I ails.
00:00:54
Speaker 2: I was aware of it.
00:00:55
Speaker 3: I was reading about it, I saw the photos, but it really didn't rise to the level until she resigned. That's when I really took notice, because this wasn't somebody who was fired from her job or discipline. There is an investigation that is continuing by the way she worked for the Athletic, which is the New York Times owned sports publication, a very well respected This is a big deal.
00:01:18
Speaker 2: This was a big job.
00:01:19
Speaker 3: She was the senior NFL reporter, and so for her to resign on her own absolutely caught my attention.
00:01:27
Speaker 1: Well that is now, But I'm saying I wasn't keeping up with I don't know how much of this story was bubbling. It was absolutely a tabloid story. Yeah, that's fair. Yes, and tabloids were covering it because of the pictures that came out. It wasn't necessarily a main stream story, if you will, until we started hearing about investigations and now a resignation. Let's start at the top robes with the photos in the first place, if people are not familiar, Mike Rabel is the head coach of the New England Patriots, a storied franchise at this point, but he is now going into his second year. In his first year, he was named NFL Coach of the Year and took his team to the Super Bowl. They lost. But Robes say all that to say he is a very big, identifiable representative of the NFL and one of its biggest franchises.
00:02:24
Speaker 2: Yes, and he is in a lot of ways.
00:02:27
Speaker 3: Yes, larger than life, just by his resume and what he's done and what he's accomplished, But even physically, he's not somebody you can miss, like in a crowd.
00:02:36
Speaker 2: So it's interesting.
00:02:37
Speaker 3: All of these pictures were taken without their knowledge, it's very obvious, but at a luxury Arizona resort, and they were in public, and that was part of their defense. They were out in public and the pictures they claim were misleading, but it basically shows the two of them holding hands at one point looks like they were maybe dancing on a rooftop.
00:02:59
Speaker 2: Embracing, and then sitting in.
00:03:01
Speaker 3: The hotel's hot tub, and also lounging in the pool in loungers next to each other.
00:03:06
Speaker 1: And again, if you don't know Diana Russini, a lot of folks might not necessarily know the name, might not know her face. But she was a long time reporter at ESPN, was there at least a decade, I do believe, and then she moved over to the Athletic where she's been for the past few years. She does have a high profile spot over there, and she does cover the NFL. Therein lies the problem. So the pictures first and foremost, Robes. They anybody, it's up for interpretation of what you see in those photos and what you see in those photos Robes, at least in two of them. It's hard to suggest, just by common sense that those are two people who are not involved romantically. The hugging photo, and then they have both hands in each other's and you said almost dancing. It's hard to look at the pictures and think anything else.
00:04:06
Speaker 2: It doesn't look platonic.
00:04:08
Speaker 3: Now there's no smoking gun, there's no sexualized interaction where you think, oh wow. But it does look like a couple on a romantic getaway in a beautiful, stunning setting about I believe, about two hours drive away from where they had been working, I guess in the Phoenix area. So it looks like a romantic, luxurious getaway for a couple in love.
00:04:32
Speaker 1: Okay, fine, knock yourselves out. The issue for others is that these two are married to other people. Fine, none of us know what's going on in any of those relationships. None of us understands at all that background. But Robes. The reason this has now risen to a level is initially their response to the photos flies in the face of what you see. You can't necessarily, Robes make the two things line up. Their initial comments and the pictures.
00:05:09
Speaker 2: Yes, their initial comments.
00:05:11
Speaker 3: Basically, Russini said that she was there on a hiking trip with two other girlfriends, and that he was there with other friends.
00:05:19
Speaker 2: I believe they said there was a party of six.
00:05:21
Speaker 3: Basically, it wasn't just the two of them. There were four other people involved on the trip. He had a friend or two and she had two friends. The problem is there are no photos showing any other people, and they were taken over a series of several hours and it was just the two of them, and according to some of the publications that when they talked to other guests, they were never seen with anyone other than each other.
00:05:47
Speaker 1: Okay again, not you. You are adult folks, right, and this has now come out and this is now public. Rabel's response Coach Rabel initially Robes is he was a little dismissive. I guess very much, you could say. And it also flies in the face of what our own I see. I don't need to question them at all. If these pictures that come out and they never made a statement, I just don't care knock themselves out that's to y'all your spouses each other. Go ahead, but Robes that statement he made, I mean, yeah, who you think you're talking?
00:06:23
Speaker 3: Coach Brabel said, these photos show a completely innocent interaction, and any suggestion otherwise is laughable.
00:06:35
Speaker 1: That's completely innocent. And look, I don't, fine, fine, don't say anything. But to tell grown folks, I mean, we're looking at it's a guy.
00:06:48
Speaker 3: You don't usually hold hands and look lovingly in someone's eyes on a rooftop in a picturesque. But like maybe they were practicing dance moves for something that she was doing later. I mean, there could be an innocent explanation, it just doesn't look like one. So to say that the pictures are completely innocent maybe requires, if you're going to comment at all, a little further explanation.
00:07:12
Speaker 2: Okay.
00:07:12
Speaker 1: So he called it laughable and initially Robes. The Athletic stood by her. They even said these photos are misleading and lack essential contexts. These were public interactions in front of many people. Diana as a premier journalist covering the NFL, and we're proud to have her at the Atlantic. But record scratch, something has now taken place. Something has happened. It's gone a little further and she has resigned Robes. She wasn't suspended, but there was an investigation that it seems like now Robes she wanted to get ahead of before it found out whatever it might find out. But she posted a lengthy resignation letter online yesterday Robes, and she addressed a lot of stuff. The thing she did not address is whether or not the things that are being talked about and the rumors or whatever else are true or not. Rose there has not been a denial, and that.
00:08:10
Speaker 3: Has been very glaring. The fact that neither one of them have said anything that would be yes considered a flat out denial that anything untoward was going on. So this is what she wrote in her resignation letter. Please accept this letter as my resignation from the Athletic, effective immediately. I have come to this decision with deep sadness, but with clarity about what is right for me, my family, and the work I have spent my career building. You and I have already publicly addressed the recent attacks against me, and I have nothing to add publicly to what we have said. I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published. When the page six item first appeared, the Athletic supported me unequivocally expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism.
00:09:03
Speaker 2: For that, I am grateful In the days that followed.
00:09:06
Speaker 3: Unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.
00:09:16
Speaker 2: Moreover, this media frenzy.
00:09:18
Speaker 3: Is hurtling forward without regard for the review process the Athletic is trying to complete. It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept. Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now before my current contract expires on June thirtieth.
00:09:43
Speaker 2: I do so not because I.
00:09:45
Speaker 3: Accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career. Over a career spending more than fifteen years in sports journalism at NBC, ESPN and The Athletic, I have built a body of work I am proud of. I have broken stories or in the trust of sources across the league, and been guided by the highest standards of professional conduct.
00:10:12
Speaker 2: That record speaks for itself.
00:10:14
Speaker 3: I remain grateful to the athletic and for the extraordinary colleagues with whom I have worked there, for the platform it provided, and for the support you showed me during this difficult time. I wish you nothing but continued success and look of Note, she never once said I categorically deny any affair with with coach sorry coach rabel Like. She never once denies it or says.
00:10:39
Speaker 1: She doesn't have to. I mean she doesn't have to.
00:10:42
Speaker 3: But by not doing it, is that creating more? Is she fueling more speculation?
00:10:45
Speaker 2: Of course she is.
00:10:46
Speaker 1: We would not have touched the story. We wouldn't have. She's got something going on with her husband. He's got something going on with his wife. I don't know. I don't understand. Knock yourselves out, suss that out.
00:10:59
Speaker 3: All.
00:10:59
Speaker 1: That's a y'all. If they want to do whatever they want to do it. I'm just saying I am not, and I get how this goes. We get to a subnegree more than most robes, but it became a story when she resigned because of pictures that were posted. So now I am very curious and interested. Why did she resign, Why should she have to resign? Why is this happening? And the answer she gives for it robes. She doesn't have to say anything else, anything at all about this story, and we don't have to speculate at all. But she had a long opportunity here to speak to the public. She had a long opportunity here to say a simple thing, and she said it Robes in compound sentences and using words that you don't use, and it's almost to make you confused about her non denial dens who talks like this when you're saying commentators in various media have engaged in self feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.
00:12:12
Speaker 3: Unmoored from the facts, What does that mean that there's some truth to it, but it's not all true, but some of it could be true. And the point being is you and I just know from experience a picture, yes can say a lot of different things that aren't true, or you do need context, or you do need background information.
00:12:28
Speaker 2: We fully know what that feels like.
00:12:30
Speaker 3: But hell, no, would we have ever resigned our positions when we knew we did nothing wrong.
00:12:36
Speaker 2: So that's I guess where we're coming from.
00:12:38
Speaker 1: Yes, it continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry, inquiry that has already calls former damage.
00:12:48
Speaker 2: I just then put it to bed and say this did not happen.
00:12:51
Speaker 1: Here is the one that got me. I resign, but I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed.
00:12:59
Speaker 2: Around It's nebulous.
00:13:03
Speaker 1: That's what I mean, babe. And again Rusini, lady, you can do whatever you want to do, that's fine, but you don't have to admit anything to me. But she's not denying. She's telling us all we talk about this sometimes with the Trump administration.
00:13:17
Speaker 3: Bro.
00:13:18
Speaker 1: It's not to get all this muddy too much. But this thing where my eyes see something and you decide to tell me something else that what I'm seeing is not true, And that got my attention on this story. If you just stay quiet, I'd have moved on. But she's telling me that there is a narrative that has been constructed around this episode that I do not accept. Roads all you have to say is, yeah, pictures look crazy, look bad. We were hanging out, but nothing is going on.
00:13:48
Speaker 3: And you wouldn't resign if there was nothing to the photos and there was nothing to the narrative. Why would you you would? For your own good name, your reputation, your children. She has two children, a husband of six years, you would stay, honestly, I would imagine just for that, just to say, hey, I hate leaving.
00:14:06
Speaker 2: I didn't do anything wrong. End of story.
00:14:08
Speaker 1: The resignation is tough, and I hate that. All of them are a bunch of people going through something right now. Don't completely understand it Rowlands, But nobody wants to do this. This is she doesn't want to lose this job. She didn't want to leave this, of course not.
00:14:23
Speaker 3: And the question is does coach Rabel have any thing to have to say or answer to now that she's resigned, Because now questions can be asked of him who stays in his position.
00:14:34
Speaker 1: Those questions are going to be asked. We will answer them next. Is there a double standard? Should something also happen to New England Patriots head coach Mike Rabel's there?
00:14:57
Speaker 3: Welcome back everyone to this episode of amy and TJ. We are talking about that NFL reporter with the Athletic resigning a week.
00:15:05
Speaker 2: After photos were published of her.
00:15:09
Speaker 3: Alongside New England Patriots coach Mike Rabel. Initially, both of them said, there's nothing to them, this has been misconstrued, This isn't a big deal.
00:15:19
Speaker 2: Things kind of went quiet.
00:15:21
Speaker 3: We knew that the Athletic was investigating because clearly they have a policy they don't want anyone, any journalist, frankly, to be fraternizing off the field or having any sort of potential relationship, even if it's platonic with someone who you have to report on. That would violate ethics and codes of mode of operation, the ethic code that most journalistic entities have in place, and so they were investigating whether or not she broke any ethics violations merely by hanging out with him off the job.
00:15:53
Speaker 1: Okay, you not supposed to have a conflict of interest, But they go further robes you're not even so sposed to have the appearance of a conflict of interest. So they could eventually, i mean, the affair of their dating or not, could argue that you are obviously looking like there is a conflict of interest, that you should have avoided this. Oh, she could have been suspended of something else. It doesn't if she's not, again Robes. It's just that wouldn't have risen to the level that she felt she needed to resign.
00:16:23
Speaker 3: Yes, if it were just an innocent meeting where she claims she was with two girlfriends. She claims he had two guy friends and that the pictures just happened to show them alone, but there was a group with them. If that were actually true, and I'm not saying it isn't, it would be bizarre that she would resign over that. And we should point out the Athletic and the New York Times that owns the Athletic is continuing this investigation. Just because she has resigned doesn't mean they aren't still looking into her work to make sure that nothing that she ever published was compromised based on the even appearance of a conflict of interest. Yes, but this resignation is her choice. And yet, what's gonna happen with Mike Frabel?
00:17:06
Speaker 1: Nothing? Absolutely nothing. First year as a head coach, he almost won a Super Bowl. Nothing's gonna happen to Mike Vrabel, like at all? Like even the headlines might not even be bad against Mike Frabel. Look, there is a policy at that she has to adhere too. What policy to them? There are plenty of athletes that end up we see their mugshots and they still play on Sunday. Right. This guy is incredibly They went fourteen in three robes. He's incredibly valuable to this franchise. He also won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots. He is beloved there and especially by Robert Kraft. What's going to happen to him? What's going to happen if the NFL tries to call one of their own on having an affair?
00:17:55
Speaker 2: Really, yeah, I see the look.
00:17:57
Speaker 3: If you could see the look on TJ's face right now, it's incredib.
00:18:00
Speaker 1: Put him out to Ooh, we got to get him out of here. We gotta get Vrabel out of the league. Did just see this stop?
00:18:08
Speaker 3: He was holding hands with an NFL sideline reform?
00:18:11
Speaker 1: Okay, we've seen NFL players do much worse on video and still catch passes two weeks later.
00:18:17
Speaker 2: So the same rule applies for coaches in the league. Winning coaches. I should point out.
00:18:21
Speaker 1: There is no that this is well, it's going to be a little embarrassing. He skipped one press event. I think on Monday of this week. I think they have a pre draft NFL draft. Think that's next week that his team will be He's gonna get asked, clearly.
00:18:37
Speaker 3: Reporters are going to follow up because now it's fair game, the fact that she's resigned. They're gonna want him to comment on it. They're gonna want him to react to it. What's he gonna say, don't know.
00:18:48
Speaker 1: He might say, I'm done talking about it. I've said what I've said on it, moving on to other matters. Keep Peppernham, I've said what I'm going to say about it, move on to other matters, and eventually they're going to have to stop talking. Now he might have to say something to his team, he might have to say something to his front office. But other than that, what has he done. He's Oh, my goodness, he has brought such shame upon the league.
00:19:12
Speaker 3: He says, with dripping with sarcasms.
00:19:14
Speaker 1: But folks will say there is some kind of a double standard. She's been held to some different standard than the man. Well, a journalist versus a coach is a different standard.
00:19:26
Speaker 3: Yes, and she did choose to hold herself to that standard.
00:19:29
Speaker 2: Whatever that was.
00:19:30
Speaker 3: I actually have to give the athletic so much kudos because can you imagine if this same grace was extended to us and we were allowed to actually say what we went through. They actually said, while the situation was brought to our attention last week, there were clear concerns, but we received a detailed explanation, and it was our instinct to support and defend a colleague while we continue to review the matter.
00:19:55
Speaker 2: Matter. That's impressive.
00:19:57
Speaker 1: It's strong to read that obviously if only oh yeah, that's stung a little bit, but I get that. And then upon further information or investigation, they it continued, but they didn't take action. They not a suspension, they didn't pull her from anything.
00:20:12
Speaker 3: No, they chose to take her word for it and then do an independent investigation. That is the correct way to handle something like this. I thought it was impressive to hear that that's how they decided to handle it. Now, she wasn't permitted to report during the investigation, so that was one thing that she had to basically be sidelined while the investigation was taking place. But that makes sense as well, and it was her choice to resign.
00:20:43
Speaker 2: At the end.
00:20:44
Speaker 3: Of it.
00:20:44
Speaker 1: Look, these stories were these are two people doing whatever they were doing, and who are we or anybody else to say what they were doing was right or wrong. I have no idea what's going on in any of their lives, and there their homes, I do not know. But this thing people are like. Lives are being changed, a franchise could be upended, a reporter has lost a job, the athletic is being impacted. All these things roll because somebody at some resort decided to take a picture of two people in a private moment and send it to a tabloid. Again, everybody can make the argument, well, they deserve it because they were doing something wrong. Look, if it's just I hate that, and all the right the dominoes start to fall just based on somebody who is in a resort, like mind your own damn.
00:21:33
Speaker 2: Business, Good luck with that.
00:21:35
Speaker 3: Everyone considers themselves citizen journalists and they've got those phones and they're ready to take pictures at any point. And the point is you could actually be doing something innocent or not do anything wrong, and still it can be construed a different way. Unfortunately, she has chosen to remove herself from the dialogue.
00:21:54
Speaker 2: But that is causing, of course, a lot more chatter. That's the problem with that.
00:21:59
Speaker 3: When you make a move like this, now you're actually creating the headline.
00:22:02
Speaker 1: I can't say enough with these are grown folks. Ye do your thing, not defending anything they did, but not attacking them for anything they did, because we actually do not know what is going on.
00:22:16
Speaker 2: And that's so true.
00:22:16
Speaker 1: But Diana Russini is giving us some insight by making a decision to give up a job that she loved. I just loved robes, but worked and fought a long time to.
00:22:29
Speaker 2: Get Yeah, yeah, no, it's so true. So we certainly wish her the best.
00:22:34
Speaker 3: We'll be looking to hear if we hear anything from Mike Rabel, but to your point, probably it's not.
00:22:39
Speaker 2: Going to be a lot.
00:22:41
Speaker 3: We appreciate you listening to us as always, everybody, I'm Amy Roboc alongside TJ.
00:22:45
Speaker 2: Holmes. We will talk to you soon.