On Thursday, the New York Post published photographs of NFL reporter Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel kissing at a bar in 2020. Vrabel, now head coach of the New England Patriots, was head coach of the Tennessee Titans at the time.
Hours later, and less than an hour before the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, Vrabel delivered a press conference in which he said a lot without saying much at all. This came after Vrabel revealed on Wednesday that he will miss Saturday’s third and final day of the draft “to seek counseling.”
“I take accountability for my actions and the actions that caused a distraction to the people I care most about: my family, this football team, the organization, and our fans,” Vrabel said in his opening statement for a press conference that was announced shortly before it began on Thursday night. “My previous actions don’t meet the standard that I hold myself to. They don’t.”
And it was around that time that social media users noticed that Russini deleted her account on X (formerly Twitter).
Dianna Russini just deleted her account.
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) April 23, 2026
Breaking: Russini has finally deleted her social media https://t.co/YzOPXvpmS8
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) April 23, 2026
Russini also deleted her Bluesky account. Her Threads, Facebook, and TikTok accounts remain, and her Instagram account is now set to private.
On April 7, photos emerged of Russini and Vrabel hugging, holding hands, and lounging next to each other poolside at the adults-only Ambiente hotel in Sedona, AZ. Russini denied the insinuations that followed after the photos quickly went viral.
“The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day,” Russini, while an NFL insider for The Athletic, told the New York Post about the initial photos. “Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”
Steven Ginsberg, the executive editor at The Athletic, told the New York Post at the time, “These photos are misleading and lack essential context. These were public interactions in front of many people. Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we’re proud to have her at the Athletic.”
Five days later, The Athletic finally took a deeper look into the matter with an internal investigation (not without their response to the matter drawing internal criticism),
And one week after the Sedona photos were released, Russini announced her resignation from The Athletic, and she posted the resignation letter on X.
“In the days that followed, unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts,” Russini wrote in her resignation letter. “Moreover, this media frenzy is hurtling forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is trying to complete. 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.
“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.”
But with the latest photos, to go with Vrabel’s recent media sessions, and with people digging up reports from Russini that now look suspect, it’s hard to see how her reporting can come back from this.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.