Dianna Russini ‘was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards,’ review finds

By Liam Reilly, CNN

(CNN) — An internal review of Dianna Russini’s work by The Athletic published on Thursday found that the former star NFL reporter’s relationship with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel “was in clear violation” of the outlet’s standards. However, the review found “no inaccuracies from Russini in any story involving Vrabel or his teams.”

The nearly five-month review, published by Mike Semel, The Athletic’s editorial director for standards and quality, found that Russini was “noncompliant” with the publication’s standards, which require disclosure of “sources or affiliations that may put into question our ability to be credible.”

“Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed,” Semel wrote.

Russini did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. However, she told The Athletic: “I stand by any and all reporting I’ve ever done in my career.” The Athletic pointed to the report as its statement on the matter.

Russini resigned from The Athletic in April, one week after Page Six published photos of her with Vrabel from March 28 that showed the pair holding hands, embracing and spending time in a pool together at a boutique resort in Sedona, Arizona.

Initially, Steven Ginsberg, the publication’s executive editor, said the photos were “misleading” and lacking “essential context” — even as The Athletic launched its investigation. However, after Russini resigned, Ginsberg wrote in a memo to staffers that “as additional information emerged, new questions were raised that became part of our investigation.”

The Page Six photographs, which were published on April 7, “indicate a relationship that puts The Athletic’s credibility in jeopardy and gives the appearance of a conflict of interest,” per Semel.

Following Russini’s resignation, The Athletic closed its probe into her personal conduct, given she was no longer employed by the company, per Semel. As such, the report did not investigate the nature of the pair’s relationship — and does not draw any conclusions about the pair. It did, however, proceed with an investigation into Russini’s work.

To reach its determination, Semel pored through 903 stories and 77 videos that bear Russini’s byline, co-byline, a contributor line or a mention of her reporting from her 32 months at the publication.

Only around 46 of the written stories mentioned Vrabel or the Patriots, while only three videos were related to the coach. Semel suggested putting Editor’s Notes on two of those videos, citing the Page Six photos, despite the videos being “light-hearted.”

The dive into Russini’s work found that she was “seldom reliant on Vrabel as a source or subject,” while conversations with editors and reporters who closely worked with her made it clear that “Russini was sourced up around the NFL, not just with Vrabel or the Patriots,” per Semel. Those colleagues “did not suspect she was closer with Vrabel than anyone else,” Semel wrote.

Though the relationship created the appearance of a conflict, Semel wrote that he found “no inaccuracies from Russini in any story involving Vrabel or his teams” and that “most of what Russini wrote about Vrabel or the Patriots was transactional and newsy.”

“In addition, I’ve not found a clear link to conclude that Russini used her platform to help promote Vrabel or help his teams during her time at The Athletic,” Semel wrote. “That said, there are examples of Russini writing glowingly of Vrabel that in hindsight are awkward or even uncomfortable.”

To maintain reader trust, Semel recommended that The Athletic “look for ways to tighten standards and try to avoid anything like this happening again,” including clarified guidelines and a review with the Standards Editor during new hires’ onboarding.

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