Deanna Russini’s claim that she avoided a traffic ticket by FaceTiming her favorite NFL coach has been proven false.
Four months after journalists shared this story on the podcast Stagots & Company, police body camera footage tells a different story.
The 43-year-old didn’t call anyone in the seven minutes and 10 seconds that were filmed, but she did name several professional soccer coaches.
“I’m an NFL reporter, and I heard on the news that (coach) Sean McDermott was fired by the Bills,” Russini told the officer, adding that he had intended to pull over to make a phone call.
The sportswriter continued, “I know you don’t care, but I’m just telling you why. This was a professional matter and it was an emergency for my job.”
Russini added that he spoke on the phone with former New York Giants coach Brian Daboll, who insisted he “wanted the job” in Buffalo.
She asked the officer if he was a New York Jets or Giants fan, and the officer replied that he supported the Minnesota Vikings.
Russini then shared a text message from the team’s head coach, Kevin O’Connell.
The officer then “cut[her]off” and said, “I know you make a lot of phone calls because of your job. Just wait until you get home, okay?”
He quipped, “Can you give me an update on the Vikings? If they’re going to get a new quarterback, let me know.”
But when Russini told her story to podcast listeners in February, she said she called the coach of the police officer’s favorite team.
“Do you want to talk to the coach?” she recalled asking him. “You should talk to the coach.”
Ms Russini claimed that the anonymous coach told officers she was a “good citizen” and to “let her go”.
The redacted story resurfaced in a New York Times article published Wednesday, rehashing the headline-grabbing scandal between Russini and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
It’s worth noting that in April, Page Six published a slew of photos of the two, who are married to different people, hanging out together dating back to 2020.
Last week’s profile confirmed that Vrabel, 50, was not the coach Russini allegedly called when he was pulled over.
Regarding the Ridgewood Police Department’s stance on traffic stops, the group released a statement saying, “An officer’s exercise of discretion in deciding whether to issue a warning or citation is consistent with Ridgewood Police Department policy and long-standing practice.
“Officers are encouraged to use their judgment and issue warnings to motorists when appropriate as part of the Department’s commitment to fair, impartial and community-based policing.”
