Dianna Russini gave a mystery NFL player a shoutout for his supportive 5 a.m. texts during the fallout from her scandal with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
The athlete latter ask how Russini was bettering herself and tell her “to stay strong through hard times,” she told People in an interview published Monday.
“I’m using a lot of that as motivation,” the journalist said, noting that the messages are part of the reason why she’s “so energized” about the launch of her forthcoming BetUS TV segment, “The Russini Report.”
“It’s why I’m not scared to get back in because I know the people that I cover are welcoming me back with open arms,” Russini, 43, added.
The former Athletic reporter gushed over the loyalty within the NFL, referring to outreach from the community as “a motivational tour.”
“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,” she told the outlet, explaining that several people pushed her to get back to work after she resigned from the Athletic in April.
“I think it’s pretty poetic that here I was all these years telling the story about these players going through adversity, and then they became sort of the people that I was learning from during this.”
Russini went on to address the allegations about her relationship with Vrabel, 50, claiming that “the lies became so out of control.”
She insisted, “This was a runaway train, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Once we realized nothing was going to stop this, it became unhealthy for us to read it because it wasn’t helping us heal. It was piling on and adding to what we were already dealing with.”
Additionally, the former ESPN reporter described the past six months post-scandal as “heartbreaking,” telling the outlet, “At the beginning of this, it was a nightmare.”
In a news release obtained by Page Six Monday, Russini was announced as the latest addition to the BetUS Sportsbook team, hosting weekly live shows and writing a weekly column starting Wednesday.
The press release read, “BetUS Sportsbook is pleased to put all the NFL rumors to rest and announce that Dianna Russini, a veteran sideline reporter for the NFL and celebrated journalist, will join its rapidly
growing pool of talented sports media analysts.”
Elsewhere in the release, Russini shared she’s “missed being in the middle of the action” covering the NFL.
“I’m excited to get back to reporting on the NFL and bring that passion to BetUS,” she stated. “I want to give fans more than just the headlines, sharing insider perspectives, uncovering the stories behind the biggest moments, and helping audiences better understand the teams, players and matchups that shape each week.”
Russini — who worked at ESPN from 2015 to 2023 and then as a Senior NFL Insider for the Athletic from August 2023 to April 2026 — secured her new gig months after photos published by Page Six showed her and Vrabel, 50, at a resort in Sedona, Arizona, in March.
The duo were pictured spending time together by the pool, and later holding hands and hugging at a hotel bungalow.
However, Vrabel and Russini, who are each married to different people, claimed they were at the resort with friends, labeling their interactions as “completely innocent.”
In separate photos published by Page Six, Russini and Vrabel were spotted kissing at a New York City bar in March 2020.
At the time, Russini, who is married to businessman Kevin Goldschmidt, chose to step aside from the Athletic to stop the speculation. As for Vrabel, who is wed to wife Jen, he was absent from Day 3 of the NFL Draft to seek counseling.
Additionally, the Athletic released internal investigation findings into Vrabel and Russini’s relationship in September, stating that the duo’s relationship “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,” Mike Semel, the outlet’s editorial director for standards and editorial quality, wrote.
