The lady in gray seems to be feeling a little exposed.
Page Six has heard that the Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel scandal is causing tension between the New York Times staff and the leadership of new stablemate The Athletic. Times insiders are furious that The Athletic “reflexively” downplayed the story, embarrassing Times reporters.
The Times acquired sports site The Athletic for about $500 million in 2022, shuttered its own sports division and effectively began using The Athletic as its sports desk.
But in theory, Athletic will remain a separate entity under the Times umbrella, similar to the consumer vertical Wirecutter, which it acquired in 2013. Additionally, its staff are not required to abide by the Times’ official code of conduct.
As The Athletic’s top NFL reporter Russini prepared to publish a photo of him holding hands with New England Patriots head coach Vrabel at a luxury resort in Arizona, The Athletic’s editor-in-chief Stephen Ginsburg “These photos are misleading and lack important context. These were public interactions in front of many people. Deanna is a premier journalist covering the NFL, and we are proud to have her at The Athletic.”
(Russini and Vrabel, who are both married to other people, denied there was any inappropriate behavior at the meeting and said they were with another group of friends at the hotel, but no one else appeared in any of the photos.)
Two days later, we reported that the Times had launched an investigation into the matter and that Mr. Russini had been removed from his seat until the investigation was completed.
“It was a real embarrassment for the Times,” said one person, who said the story was a hot topic on various desks in the Times newsroom after it was reported. “That raised a lot of concerns because it’s something that should be taken seriously and (the statement) made it seem as if they didn’t think it was worth investigating.”
Our sources said the photo was drilled into the Times staff to avoid even the appearance of inappropriate relations with sources, and the photo raised inevitable questions about whether Russini crossed that line.
They said staff at The Athletic and Times “should be held to the same standards.” Because the Vrabel episode makes clear that while the Times likes to pretend otherwise, its readers don’t.
“In this case, it’s frustrating to see it come back to bite us,” the official said, adding that “this false distinction has been exposed.”
The source was at pains to point out that the complaints were not about Athletic staff. “Anyone can make a mistake (like the one Russini appears to have made in the photo). Someone at the Times could just as easily make a mistake,” they said. “It’s about leadership,” they said.
Russini resigned on Tuesday and issued a statement to X: “I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand by every article I have ever published.” “When the Page Six article first appeared, The Athletic clearly supported me and expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism. I am grateful for that.”
“In the days that followed, unfortunately, various media commentators simply moved away from the facts and advanced their own speculations,” Russini continued, adding, “I have no interest in responding to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am prepared to accept.”
Meanwhile, Ginsburg told staff on Slack that she launched an investigation as soon as she learned of Vrabel’s issues, but that “our instinct was to[publicly]support and defend our colleague as we continued to consider the matter.”
“As further information came to light… new questions arose and became part of our investigation,” he said.
He said the investigation would continue even after Russini left the magazine, and that “the standards review of Deanna’s work, led by (The Athletic editor-in-chief of standards and editorial quality) Mike Semel, will continue.”
A Times representative had no comment.
