On the day of one of the biggest events of the NFL offseason, former Athletic NFL insider Dianna Russini has gone dark.
Russini, 43, has seemingly deleted her X account amid the controversy she finds herself wrapped up in with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
Users first noticed that Russini’s X account was gone on Thursday, April 23, right around the time Vrabel, 50, gave a pre-draft press conference in which he reiterated his intent to seek counseling as photos continue to surface of the pair spending time together.
The saga began earlier this month when Page Six published several photos of Russini and Vrabel, who are both married to other people, getting cozy by the pool at a resort in Sedona, Arizona. Both initially claimed the photos were innocent before Russini resigned from The Athletic amid an internal investigation.
Since then, more photos have leaked, including multiple showing Vrabel and Russini kissing and holding hands at a New York City bar in 2020, and another of them together at a casino in Mississippi in 2024.
Russini has mostly stayed quiet since the scandal broke, but used her X account to share her resignation letter when she stepped down at The Athletic on April14.
“This media frenzy is hurtling forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is trying to complete,” she wrote in her letter. “It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept.”
She continued, ”Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30. 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.”
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Vrabel, for his part, has not spoken publicly about Russini specifically, but emphasized on Thursday that he is prioritizing his family first, then the team, as he navigates the scandal’s fallout.
“The New England Patriots fully support Mike Vrabel’s decision to prioritize his family first, as well as his own well-being,” the team said in a statement of support on Thursday. “Mike has been open with us about his commitment to being the best version of himself for his family, this team and our fans, and we respect the steps he is taking to follow through on that commitment.”
“I promised my family, this organization and this team that I was going to give them the best version of me that I can possibly give them. In order to do so, I have committed to seeking counseling, starting this weekend,” Vrabel added in his own statement. “This is something that I have given a lot of thought to and is something I would advise a player to do if I was counseling them.”
