NFL insider Dianna Russini didn’t go there while discussing the aftermath of her and Patriots coach Mike Vrabel’s photo scandal that rocked the sports world in March.
In an interview with People, the former senior NFL insider for The Athletic explained that she got through “the nightmare” ordeal with support from her husband, Kevin Goldschmidt — and she’s launching “The Russini Report,” a one-hour show that will stream on BetUS TV’s website and X account this week.
Russini did not name Vrabel, nor did she address allegations that her and the coach, who is married, had an affair in the published interview.
Russini refers to the matter as “this situation” and acknowledges that it was “easy to pile on” when “people were enjoying watching my career fall apart” — but she never explains the reason for her personal and professional fallout.
An X account for “The Russini Report” indicated Russini will not address the matter on her new show.
“Will Dianna be discussing the Vrabel incident on the first episode?” an X user asked.
“We’re adding a football show, not a rumor mill. Dianna’s here to talk football. That’s the play,” the page for “The Russini Report” replied.
People mentions the photo scandal in the beginning of the article before quoting Russini.
“The best way to describe what the last six months were like for me is heartbreaking,” Russini said. “At the beginning of this, it was a nightmare.”
Page Six broke the story and published photos on April 7 showing the pair holding hands while at a resort in Arizona in March. The outlet published more photos of them together at Tribeca Tavern in the early hours of March 11, 2020.
Russini, who resigned from The Athletic on April 14, explained that she and Goldschmidt, a Shake Shack executive, deleted their X accounts and avoided headlines on the matter.
“The lies became so out of control,” Russini said. “This was a runaway train, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Once we realized nothing was going to stop this, it became unhealthy for us to read it because it wasn’t helping us heal. It was piling on and adding to what we were already dealing with.”
The pair, married for six years, share two young sons.
Vrabel has been married to his wife, Jen, since 1999. They have two sons together.
The Patriots supported Vrabel in the aftermath of the photos being released, and he missed Day 3 of the NFL Draft to seek counseling with his family.
Vrabel told reporters at the time that he had difficult, candid and productive conversations with his family, and he did not elaborate.
Vrabel also avoided the topic when he was asked about Russini’s resignation from The Athletic.
“I respect and appreciate every single question, but I’m not going to be able to comment on anything as it relates to that,” Vrabel said at the time, adding, “I appreciate your job and what you guys have got to do, but I have to make my comments and what I answer about our football team.”
During the interview with People, Russini announced her return to sports media.
The former ESPNer is launching “The Russini Report,” a one-hour show that will stream on BetUS TV’s website and X account beginning Wednesday at 12 p.m. ET — and she will write an accompanying column to the series.
Russini said she will also be a featured contributor on the “Nobody’s Safe” podcast with host Jon Weiner, popularly known as “Stugotz.”
In September, The Athletic published the findings of its nearly five-month probe into Russini’s relationship with Vrabel and said the former NFL reporter was “noncompliant” with the New York Times-owned company’s standards.
“The way I’m going to approach stories is going to be very different now,” she said. “I have an understanding and an empathy that I didn’t have before. I would do stories in the past at the best of my ability, and sometimes now I reflect on those, and I don’t know if I always thought about how much this would affect not just the player, but a team, an organization, the players’ families.”
Russini added that she isn’t scared to return to sports media because of the support she’s received from those around the NFL, including players, GMs, owners, coaches and agents.
“I’m using a lot of that as motivation, and it’s why I’m so energized,” she said. “It’s why I’m not scared to get back in because I know the people that I cover are welcoming me back with open arms.”
