The Athletic is reported to have covered Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel’s staff scandal for the first time since Page Six published photos of the two together at an Arizona resort.
According to Front Office Sports, Editor-in-Chief Stephen Ginsburg held an all-hands meeting on Wednesday following Russini’s resignation from the magazine on April 14th.
Sources told Front Office Sports that Ginsburg read a prepared statement that lasted about 10 minutes and acknowledged that communication between the Athletic and its staff could have been clearer as the Russini-Vrabel scandal unfolded.
Ginsburg also reportedly said that the investigation into Russini’s conduct, led by Mike Semel, editor in chief of Standards and Editorial Quality, is ongoing and likely to be long-term.
The Athletic’s editor-in-chief reportedly did not take questions at the company-wide meeting, but told staff they could contact them directly.
A representative for The Athletic did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
On April 7, Page Six published a bombshell photo of the former Athletic reporter and New England Patriots head coach.
The photo showed Russini, 43, and Vrabel, 50, holding hands and hugging each other at the luxury Ambiente hotel in Sedona on March 28.
Although both are married to other people, they downplayed the situation after the snapshot went viral.
“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” the NFL coach and father of two told Page Six in a statement.
“The photo does not represent the group of six people who were playing during the day,” Russini told us. “Like most NFL journalists, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”
Meanwhile, Ginsburg said the photo of Russini and Vrabel was “misleading” and lacked “important context.”
“These were public interactions in front of many people,” he added. “Deanna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we are proud to welcome her to The Athletic.”
However, it was later revealed that The Athletic had sidelined Russini and launched an investigation into her actions. She left the company on April 14th.
“Rather than continue in this situation, I have decided to step aside before my current contract expires on June 30th,” she wrote in her resignation letter.
“I do so not because I accept the narrative built around this episode, but because I refuse to give it further oxygen or let it define me or my career,” Russini added.
Ginsburg later confirmed Russini’s departure in a memo to staff.
“I am writing to inform you that Deanna Russini has submitted her resignation from The Athletic, effective immediately,” he wrote.
“As more information came to light, new questions arose, which became part of our investigation,” the editor-in-chief added. “While an investigation into Ms. Deanna’s conduct was ongoing, she has chosen to resign.”
As for Vrabel, he first addressed the bombshell photo scandal last week during a press conference with reporters ahead of this year’s NFL Draft.
He thanked reporters for their “patience” amid a “personal and private matter” and acknowledged he could have addressed the media “sooner.”
“I’ve had some difficult conversations with the people I care about: my family, the organization, coaches, players,” Vrabel said. “They were positive and productive.”
The NFL head coach then announced that he would be “going through counseling” starting last weekend, which caused him to miss Saturday’s third day of the draft.
But last Thursday, the scandal took a different turn when Page Six obtained new photos of Vrabel and Russini getting close and kissing inside a New York City bar in March 2020.
