The Athletic finds former reporter's undisclosed relationship with Titans coach violated standards
An internal review at The Athletic concluded that former NFL reporter Dianna Russini failed to disclose a personal relationship with Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, breaching the outlet's standards, though no clear evidence of editorial bias was found.
The Athletic’s internal investigation determined that former NFL reporter Dianna Russini had a personal relationship with Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel that should have been disclosed under the publication’s standards. The review, led by editorial director Mike Semel, examined 903 articles, 77 videos, 204 podcast episodes and 25 off-platform appearances involving Russini.
“Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards. Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed,” Semel wrote.
Semel said the probe did not uncover “clear” evidence that Russini used her platform to promote Vrabel or his teams. However, he noted that some of her coverage of Vrabel appeared overly favorable in hindsight. One example cited was a 2023 column in which Russini asserted that the Titans would not fire Vrabel, a prediction that proved incorrect when the coach was dismissed two months later.
Russini resigned from The Athletic in April after photographs of her with the married coach at an Arizona hotel attracted public scrutiny. She was not immediately reachable for comment.