New England Patriots
“There’s just a lot to go through, and we obviously want to take our time and be careful doing that.”
Dianna Russini AP Photo/Ben Margot, File
-
5 takeaways from Day 1 of Patriots minicamp
-
Kayshon Boutte addresses Patriots trade rumors: ‘I do want to be here’
According to a report from Page Six, staffers at The Athletic are still awaiting answers from the New York Times’ investigation of the Dianna Russini situation.
Russini had worked at The Athletic until this past April. The New York Times owns the Athletic.
Russini stepped down from her position as a senior NFL insider after photos were published of her and Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel holding hands and spending time in a hot tub in a resort in Arizona.
Vrabel said at the time that it was an innocent interaction, and that the thought of it being anything more was laughable. Russini said the photos were misleading and did not show the entire group of people that they were socializing with.
Yet, Vrabel later told reporters that he had to have difficult conversations with his family and missed Day 3 of the NFL Draft to attend counseling. Russini lost her job and deleted her X account.
An investigation into the matter has reportedly been launched, and according to Page Six the topic was addressed by executive editor Steven Ginsberg at a meeting last week.
“It’s going to take a few more weeks,” Ginsberg said, according to the Page Six report. “There’s just a lot to go through, and we obviously want to take our time and be careful doing that. We will update everybody when we get to the end of that. We’ve also said that if we find anything that needs to be corrected, we will correct it along the way.”
The Athletic put out a statement in support of Russini after the photos were published. However, after new information had become available, an inquiry was requested.
Backlash and questions from internal staffers also emerged. An unnamed source told Page Six the situation was “embarrassing” for the staff.
Russini denied having an affair with Vrabel and said that she stands by her reporting. She previously covered the Tennessee Titans during Vrabel’s stint as head coach there. While covering the NFL on a national basis for The Athletic, Russini’s job had also included reports about the Patriots.
The Patriots began their three-day mandatory minicamp on Wednesday in Foxborough. Vrabel was there, taking an active role guiding the team through drills.
Last month, during one of the team’s voluntary OTA sessions, Vrabel was asked if he anticipated having to miss more time.
“I can only tell you I’m going to be there today,” Vrabel said on May 27th. “I can’t tell you anything other than I’m going to be out there today in full force. And I mean that because who knows what’s going to come up? “
“Anything could happen. So, I’m going to focus on today and the excitement that we’ve had and that we’ve built so far, the conditioning that we’ve tried to incorporate into our practices, the weightlifting and all the things that are critical.”
There are still unanswered questions about the situation, and according to Page Six the results of the New York Times’s investigation are still weeks away.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
