Dianna Russini appears to have submitted her last ballot for the annual NFL Honors awards.
The reporter, who left The Athletic following allegations involving her and New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, had been among the 50 journalists chosen to vote in the Associated Press’s high-profile awards poll since 2022.
Russini and Vrabel, both of whom are married and have children, denied claims of an affair after photos surfaced showing them together at an adults-only Arizona resort.
The images quickly spread online and led The Athletic to open an investigation into the matter. Additional photographs later emerged that appeared to show the pair kissing at a New York City bar in 2020.
Following the controversy, critics called on the AP to make ballots from previous NFL Honors voting public. The scrutiny has centered in part on Vrabel’s 2025 Coach of the Year win, while NFL podcaster Tony Farmer criticized the organization for refusing to release the records.
‘The Associated Press will not release its ballots so we can see if the woman on the left voted for the man on the right for Coach of the Year, and see who she voted for in slots 2-5,’ he wrote on X.
Dianna Russini is reportedly expected to address the controversy involving her and Mike Vrabel
Russini now appears to have submitted her final ballot in the prestigious Associated Press vote
‘If Russini left Ben Johnson off her ballot like she did the prior year (Assistant COTY) when he received 29 1st-place votes, then that would be really tough to explain.’
Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers criticized Russini’s former employer, ESPN, during a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, accusing the network of failing to address the controversy.
‘What was this network doing?’ Rodgers said. ‘You had literally an individual that maybe used to work at ESPN, that covers our league at the highest level, and there’s a major scandal, and it’s just like nobody can [expletive] talk about it? What are we even doing here?
‘I understand, but if it’s affecting certain things, if there’s leaks going on, if there’s tampering going on, if that person is also an MVP voter and a Coach of the Year voter, remember when I won MVP in 2021 and that [expletive] in Chicago? That’s real life. How are we allowing these people to have an impact?’
Daily Mail Sport has asked AP to clarify whether Russini would be voting this year. They stopped short of directly answering the question however, in a quote, seemed to suggest that would not be the case.
Vrabel’s New England Patriots kicked off the NFL season with a loss against the Seahawks
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Russini covered the Tennessee Titans for ESPN when Vrabel was head coach of the team
A spokesperson said simply: ‘The makeup of AP’s NFL awards voting panel changes regularly as sports reporters change positions and organizations, and this year is no different.’
According to Page Six, Russini is now considering offers to return to the NFL beat and is preparing to share her side of the story. The report claims that the 43-year-old, who was paid around $800,000 a year by The Athletic, has turned down a host of interview offers and intends to speak out ‘on her own terms’.
Earlier this month, The Athletic published the results of its probe. It found that Russini was ‘noncompliant’ with its standards but that also there was limited evidence of bias in her reporting.
‘Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards. Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed,’ it said.
‘Specifically, when it comes to The Athletic’s standards, Russini was noncompliant.’
Mike Semel, The Athletic’s editorial director for standards and quality, said that he found no ‘clear link to conclude that Russini used her platform to help promote Vrabel or help his teams during her time at The Athletic.’
Aaron Rodgers recently ruffled feathers with an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show
Russini has regularly cast one of 50 media votes in the prestigious AP Coach of the Year award
He did, however, find occasions when the NFL insider wrote ‘glowingly of Vrabel that in hindsight are awkward or even uncomfortable.’
Following the investigation, Russini said in a statement: ‘I stand by any and all reporting I’ve ever done in my career.’
Russini was a reporter for ESPN covering the Tennessee Titans when Vrabel was head coach, before later joining The Athletic while he ended up back the Patriots, whom he had represented with distinction as a player, winning three Super Bowl rings early in an unprecedented era of dominance.
Vrabel issued an apology just before the NFL Draft, missing the final day of the event to attend counselling. In his first season in New England, he turned around the misfiring franchise to lead them back to a place in the Super Bowl.