An argument can be made that the last week has been the worst of Dianna Russini’s life.
The senior NFL insider for The Athletic has been front-and-center of a public cheating scandal involving New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
The two were photographed together at an adults-only hotel in Arizona during the NFL’s annual league meeting recently holding hands and getting friendly next to the pool.
Vrabel and Russini are both married to other people, and both have released statements denying any wrongdoing and alleging the photos were misrepresenting the actual situation (they claim they were simply hanging out with several other mutual friends during some offseason down time).
The Athletic is officially investigating the incident, and the company has instructed Russini not to report on anything in the interim.
The longtime NFL insider’s contract with The Athletic is up in August, and many have speculated that she may end up getting fired before then. If she does, however, she appears to already have another job lined up if she ends up unemployed.
“I’ll tell you this on the front end of any Dianna Russini discussion I’m going to have,” Fox Sports radio host John “Stugotz” Weiner recently said. “If The Athletic gets rid of her, she’ll be sitting right next to me and Izzy doing the show. I support my friends. I don’t bail on my friends, especially at their worst professional time.”
Weiner, the host of “Stugotz and Company,” has been friends with Russini for years, and he’s defended her amid the Vrabel scandal.
Russini has made several guest appearances on his show, and if the worst-case scenario plays out, she could find herself a permanent fixture on the program.
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