Standards, Mostly Double

Reporting has never been glamorous, no matter how many exotic locations Christiane Amanpour broadcasts from, Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman movie portrayals, or how smart and clever Katharine Hepburn was in “Woman of the Year.” The work is challenging and rewarding – though usually in ways not tied to earnings – as well as time consuming and tedious. Information is vital for a functioning society, but being nosy for a living has no shortage of detractors. 

The news business has been under assault for some time, with newspapers strip-mined and shuttered, and the corporate enshittification of various news outlets in service to profits and power. Discouraging as outside incursions are, it’s the “own goals” that are often more galling. Which brings us to the Dianna Russini-Mike Vrabel contretemps. 

Russini is the former Bigfoot NFL reporter-turned-insider for The Athletic, Vrabel the coach of the Boston-based Kraft Family Football Collective. The New York Post ran photos of them holding hands, hot tubbing and hugging at a luxury resort in Sedona, Ariz., late last month, and a source said they were on a private bungalow rooftop and that they briefly danced together. 

Russini and Vrabel both denied that anything tawdry occurred and said that both were there with and around other people, though none were seen in any of the photos. Further complicating matters is that both are married, though not to each other. Russini’s boss vigorously defended her in the immediate aftermath but started an investigation into the episode. When she tried to get back to her job and floated a piece of NFL news, she was swamped with disgusting replies. Earlier this week she resigned. 

In a letter to her boss that went public, she admitted nothing and leaned heavily into the idea of separating herself from the runaway train of speculation by outsiders. She wrote that she resigned “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.” She decried media speculation “unmoored from the facts” and a media frenzy “hurtling forward without regard for the review process” and “I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept.” 

Notably absent is a sentence in which she takes responsibility for the unprofessional appearance of the situation, or a straight denial that anything illicit took place. A resignation letter full of righteous outrage that highlights “process” and personal insult falls short of persuasive. 

Access is oxygen for reporters. There’s all manner of gaining access to sources, ethical and unethical and many shades of gray in between. The best reporters, I’d say most reporters, cultivate it through scrupulous work and fair and knowledgeable treatment of subjects, often over years. There are plenty whose standards are lower, who play favorites and trade flattering stories or planted pieces for nuggets and scoops. Still others debase themselves ethically and essentially pay for stories and access in numerous ways. 

I’m in no position to judge what kind of reporter Russini is, only that she’s done the job for years for prominent shops and that people talk to her. She comes across as personable and engaging. What I’m comfortable saying is that she did the profession, and particularly female reporters, no favors. Even if she didn’t violate the cardinal rule of “Don’t Fuck Your Sources,” she provided fodder for misogynistic troglodytes who generally think women must have slept their way into high-profile jobs. Parenthetically, she also provided an example of the double standard applied to men and women in a symbiotic work environment, particularly one that’s male dominant. 

Russini resigned from her job, and might have been turfed after the Athletic’s investigation, while it’s likely that the only repercussions Vrabel will endure will be from Mrs. Vrabel. The NFL has made it clear that it cares about the character and behavior of players and coaches only when it damages The Shield and its image. A few suggestive pics of a coach and reporter barely move the needle. 

Not that there's anything wrong with that. McVey is 
a handsome fella.

I think it’s safe to say that the fallout would be different if pics surfaced of Adam Schefter and Sean McVay holding hands and gazing longingly into each other’s eyes over a shared bruschetta (apologies for that image). [ED NOTE: We'll add here that the aforementioned Schefter admitted to sharing a draft of a story with a source to allow for editing, which is a fairly egregious breach of standards, as well. He kept his job.] That said, Russini, and reporters in general, must be held to a higher standard simply because of the nature of the work. News outlets’ sole currency is credibility. Once that’s damaged or up for question, it broad brush compromises not only the reporter but the entire organization. If people suspect that an outlet went low to land a scoop, or if a subject or reporter has an agenda beyond simply providing information and insight, the gig is toast. 

Who and what else can no longer be trusted? Reporters’ favorability has been underwater for years. A 2024 Gallup Poll found that only 17 percent of those surveyed thought newspaper reporters had high honesty and ethics and 45 percent of respondents said those reporters had low or extremely low honesty and ethics. They fared slightly better than TV reporters, whose numbers (13 percent high, 55 percent low) were better only than members of Congress and lobbyists. Even Redford and Hoffman can’t help that. 

So, Russini takes a professional hit for, at the very least, incredibly poor judgment. Meanwhile, Vrabel goes back to prepping for the upcoming draft and footballing in general. Fair? Nope. They were co-equal participants in an indiscreet encounter. Questions about what exactly transpired and the nature of their relationship are valid, given the positions both hold – or in her case, held. What it becomes is another cautionary tale for women dealing with men in positions of power and another example of how the playing field is never level.