The Athletic’s Dianna Russini Investigation Reveals She Violated Several Rules

The Athletic’s investigation into former journalist Dianna Russini has revealed she breached several company policies during her tenure. Russini resigned from The Athletic after an alleged affair with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel came to light. Despite Vrabel's lack of disciplinary action from the Patriots or NFL, Russini's career has suffered since leaving the company.

The Athletic's editorial director of standards and quality, Mike Semel, stated that Russini's relationship with Vrabel was a clear violation of The Athletic's standards and should have been disclosed regardless of its romantic nature. Semel also noted that while 46 of Russini's stories mentioned Vrabel, the vast majority were above board and didn't involve any potential bias.

There were only three stories of unusual depth about Vrabel, one of which violated The Athletic's standards of attribution. Semel revealed that Russini did not engage in inaccurate reporting, and there was no clear evidence of favoritism towards Vrabel in her coverage. Vrabel was asked about his reaction to the investigation, but gave a typical Vrabel response, saying he doesn't have any reaction and that his team has moved on.