New York Times Launches Internal Review Into Reporter Dianna Russini’s Mike Vrabel Coverage

The New York Times Company has opened an internal review into coverage by NFL reporter Dianna Russini involving New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, after photographs of the two together at a Sedona, Arizona resort surfaced this week and prompted internal concern, according to ESPN.

Russini works for The Athletic, which is owned by the Times Company. A source told ESPN she has been sidelined while the review is conducted. No stories bearing her byline have been published since the photos first appeared earlier this week.

The images, published by the New York Post’s Page Six, show Russini and Vrabel together at a luxury hotel in Sedona, including poolside, in a hot tub, and on a rooftop deck. Several photographs appear to depict the pair embracing and holding hands. Both individuals are married to other people.

Russini has maintained that the photographs lack proper context and were taken during a larger group gathering. She said the images do not accurately represent the nature of the interaction. Vrabel, speaking separately, called any suggestion of impropriety “llaughable” and defended the platonic nature of their relationship.

The Athletic initially stood by Russini. Executive editor Steven Ginsberg said the images depicted public interactions among multiple people and lacked the context of a larger social setting. However, the outlet has since broadened its internal review after additional reporting raised fresh questions about the relationship between Russini and Vrabel and the independence of her coverage of the Patriots coach.

Editors are working to verify claims that other people were present during the photographed moments, according to people familiar with the matter. The review is ongoing and expected to take additional time before any conclusions are reached.

Russini is among the highest-paid journalists working under the Times Company umbrella. Her contract is set to expire later this year, adding another layer of complexity to the situation as the company weighs her future.

The controversy arrives at a sensitive moment for both parties. Vrabel is beginning his tenure as New England’s head coach following his departure from Tennessee, where he built a reputation as one of the league’s most prominent sideline figures. Russini, meanwhile, has cultivated deep sources throughout the NFL and built a reputation for enterprise reporting on the league’s coaching and executive landscape.

For now, both wait as the Times Company determines whether the photographs represent a genuine conflict of interest or a storm in a teacup taken out of proportion by the glare of social media.