Dianna Russini’s resignation from The Athletic has sparked a bitter divide inside the sports media world. Just days after stepping down amid the fallout from photos of her with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, Russini is now facing public criticism from fellow NFL reporter Crissy Froyd, who says the scandal has hurt the credibility of women in sports journalism.
Froyd, who covers the NFL for USA TODAY, responded directly to Russini’s resignation letter on social media after Russini announced she would leave The Athletic before her contract expired on June 30.
“I’m sure you were told to submit this or that you’d get fired instead,” Froyd wrote. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. We know who you really are and what you’ve been up to for years. It does so much detriment to women in sports who have done things the right way.”
Many of Russini’s peers had defended her in the days leading up to her resignation. Dan Le Batard, Jemele Hill, and Michelle Beadle were among the media figures who criticized the public scrutiny surrounding the story and argued that Russini was being unfairly targeted.
Froyd, however, made clear that she believed the issue went far beyond tabloid headlines.
After receiving pushback online, Froyd doubled down rather than backing away. “It does no benefit to her to admit anything close to the truth. Why would she? She gains nothing,” Froyd wrote.
She added that she believed Russini had damaged the profession over a long period. “Part of me almost feels bad for her — she’s in her 40s and I think wanted to be good and ethical from the start. But she’s not been for years on end. You make your own bed.”
Froyd also argued that the controversy is not simply about a reporter having a personal relationship with a coach. “Relationships with players and coaches and reporters isn’t really troubling to me,” she wrote. “Giving something up for info as an exchange is wrong. Build your career on your own integrity. I don’t support her at all.”
Russini announced her resignation earlier this week after The Athletic launched an internal investigation into her relationship with Vrabel. The review began after Page Six published photos showing Russini and Vrabel holding hands, embracing, sitting together in a hot tub, and spending time on the rooftop of a private bungalow at a luxury resort in Sedona, Arizona.
“Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30,” she wrote. “I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”
Russini and Vrabel have both denied that their interactions were inappropriate. Russini told the New York Post that they had been with a larger group and said, “Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.” Vrabel likewise said the photos showed “a completely innocent interaction.”
Russini and Vrabel have known each other for years. Russini first covered Vrabel in 2018 while reporting on the Tennessee Titans for ESPN, and she continued reporting on him after he became head coach of the Patriots.
