Dianna Russini maintained her journalistic integrity while resigning from The Athletic last month.
“Over a career spanning more than fifteen years in sports journalism — at NBC, ESPN, and The Athletic — I have built a body of work I am proud of. I have broken stories, earned the trust of sources across the league, and been guided by the highest standards of professional conduct. That record speaks for itself," she said.
“I remain grateful to The Athletic and for the extraordinary colleagues with whom I have worked there, for the platform it provided, and for the support you showed me during this difficult time. I wish you nothing but continued success.”
But in the weeks that have followed - as more photos of Russini with Vrabel have emerged - she's been silent.
One prominent sports media host is encouraging her to do the opposite.
© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.
Longtime Boston sports radio host Mike Felger is encouraging Russini to embrace her "notorious" side.
Felger appeared on The Awful Announcing Podcast.
Russini encouraged to embrace what has happened
Should Russini just spit it all out?
“If I were Dianna Russini, I think her opportunities in the traditional media are going to be slim. So, if I were her, I would embrace being a little notorious, and I would embrace being that girl who comes back and sort of tells it like it is,” he said, per AA. “One of the things I would say is, ‘OK, maybe I was literally in bed with someone, but the rest of these guys, they’re figuratively in bed with them. And trust me, much worse than I was. So, yeah, maybe mine was over here, and maybe mine crossed a long, maybe mine was literal, but the figurative banging that’s going on out there, it ain’t much different.'”
“So, she was literally playing footsie with Mike Vrabel in the hot tub,” Felger continued. “How many of these male insiders are figuratively playing footsie with these guys in the hot tub, and how different is it really? It’s different — I’m not saying it’s the same — but please. So, I think there’s a story to tell there if she wanted to tell it, and I think it’d be pretty interesting if she did.”
That could come eventually, but for now, Russini has stayed silent.
