In a notable case of a media giant reporting on its own, The New York Times on Saturday detailed an internal investigation at its subsidiary The Athletic into senior NFL reporter Dianna Russini’s relationship with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
The inquiry was triggered by photographs published April 7 by The New York Post’s Page Six column showing Russini and Vrabel holding hands, hugging and sitting together in a hot tub at a luxury resort in Sedona, Arizona. Both are married to other people.
The Athletic, acquired by The New York Times Company in 2022, placed Russini on leave while it reviews the nature of her personal relationship with Vrabel and whether it affected her coverage of him or the team he coaches, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Times article, written by media reporter Katie Robertson, marks the latest twist in a story that has drawn widespread attention in sports and media circles. It highlights The Athletic’s own editorial guidelines, which stress avoiding conflicts of interest or even the appearance of them to preserve journalistic credibility.
Steven Ginsberg, The Athletic’s executive editor, initially defended Russini in comments to The Post, calling the photos “misleading” and lacking “essential context.” He said the interactions occurred publicly in front of many people and described Russini as “a premier journalist covering the NFL” whom the outlet is “proud to have.”
Russini told The Post she and Vrabel were at the resort with a group of friends, adding: “Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.” Vrabel echoed that the images showed “a completely innocent interaction” and called any other suggestion “laughable.”
Yet sources told ESPN and other outlets that the photos prompted The Athletic to reopen questions about Russini’s past reporting on Vrabel, leading to her sidelining. She has not published new stories for The Athletic since the photos surfaced and posted an article by another reporter on social media Thursday.
The situation underscores the unusual optics: The New York Times, which owns The Athletic outright, is now publicly covering an internal personnel matter at its sports property. Media watchers have called the development “wild” and emblematic of the overlapping worlds of big-media ownership and high-stakes NFL beat reporting.
Russini joined The Athletic in 2023 after a high-profile run at ESPN that included anchoring “SportsCenter.” She co-hosts the outlet’s “Scoop City” podcast and is one of the league’s most prominent female insiders.
Neither Russini, Vrabel nor Ginsberg immediately responded to requests for comment from The Times.
The Athletic has not commented publicly beyond Ginsberg’s initial statement, and the status of the investigation remains unclear. In the meantime, the story has fueled online debate about journalistic ethics, source-reporter boundaries and the realities of covering a league where personal relationships can blur professional lines.
For an outlet that prides itself on independent, subscriber-driven sports journalism, the episode is a reminder of how quickly a Page Six scoop can put even the biggest media brands under the microscope — especially when the microscope belongs to the same corporate family.
Flip the pages for the resort photos.
