Dianna Russini is “going through a very difficult time” after bombshell photos of her and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel surfaced, according to her friend.
Russini’s former ESPN colleague, Jon “Stugotz” Weiner, confirmed he recently “spoke” to the sports journalist during the latest episode of his Fox Sports radio show, “Stugotz and Company.”
“She’s going through a very difficult time,” Weiner shared. “She’s going to survive this.”
A few days after Page Six exclusively published photos of Russini and Vrabel hanging out at a resort in Sedona, Arizona, which have since gone viral, the sportscaster resigned from her position at the Athletic.
Weiner told listeners on his radio show last week that he’d hire the sports journalist “in two seconds” if she lost her job.
“If The Athletic gets rid of her, she’ll be sitting right next to me and Izzy [Gutierrez] doing the show,” he said at the time. “I support my friends, and don’t bail on my friends. Especially at their worst professional time in their history. I don’t do that to them.”
The radio host further defended Russini, who was the Athletic’s Senior NFL Insider since 2023, by noting that “the entire industry is littered with conflicts of interest.”
“Every single take that anyone makes is littered in conflict of interest. I don’t want to hear about it,” Weiner added.
Russini previously worked at ESPN from 2015 to 2023 before she landed her critical job at the Athletic.
In the exclusive Page Six photos, which were published on April 7, Russini, 43, and Vrabel, 50, could be seen spending time together at the luxe boutique resort Ambiente.
A source told Page Six at the time that the two had breakfast on the patio of the hotel restaurant at around 10:30 a.m. on March 28. They then spent an hour by the pool and hot tub.
Later in the day, Russini and Vrabel were seen holding hands and hugging in a private area of one of the hotel’s bungalows at sunset. The insider claimed the two briefly danced together.
Russini has been married to Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt, with whom she shares two children, since 2020.
Meanwhile, Vrabel has been married to Jen Vrabel since 1999. They also share two kids.
In response to the viral pics, Vrabel told Page Six that he and Russini were having a “completely innocent interaction.”
Russini — who fficially resigned from the Athletic on April 14 — told us that “the photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day.”
Following the release of the new photos, the New York Times has launched an investigation into the matter.
In her resignation letter, Russini stated that the Athletic initially “supported me unequivocally” and “expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism” after the pics were published.
However, Russini added that “in the days that followed… commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.”
She noted that she was resigning to stop the speculation and damage surrounding the situation.
