It's been a couple of months since Dianna Russini officially resigned from her position as an NFL insider at The Athletic.
The longtime NFL journalist announced her resignation amid the Mike Vrabel scandal. Russini was spotted at an adults-only resort with Vrabel in Arizona, ahead of the NFL owner meetings. Outlets like Page Six, TMZ Sports and the New York Post went on to publish several different photos and videos of the pair together over the years, in non-professional settings.
Russini chose to resign amid the scandal.
“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,” Russini 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.”
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It's difficult to see Russini returning to the sports media world as a traditional insider or reporter.
However, as Awful Announcing notes, the door could be opening for Russini's return as a personality/pundit. Fans would certainly have interest in hearing her opinions, at least at first.
"Making the switch from a sports reporter to a sports personality isn’t that drastic. Certainly not now. Just look at ESPN’s daily lineup of talking heads. Some are still reporters, but you’ll hear a lot from people just giving hot takes," they wrote.
"The major impediment for Russini here is the scandal she’ll have to address. She’ll likely wait until after the investigation. After that, does she choose a friendly landing spot to do her first interview? Does she go for something like the Call Her Daddy podcast? Does she do something more formal, like a traditional sit-down interview?"
Russini has already received some informal job offers
Jon "Stugotz" Weiner and Dave Portnoy have both admitted that they would gladly hire Russini, if she's interested.
"No-brainer, if she wanted to work here, we'd do it," Portnoy said during a recent interview with Us Weekly.
Portnoy doesn't think what Russini did is all that bad.
"An affair is not like a murder. It's bad, but I'm not in the family. She'll land somewhere, and you know, if people who have affairs are never allowed to work again in this country, you're gonna lose a significant amount of the workforce," Portnoy said. "It is obviously really sad, but at the same time, that's not like a capital offense that should end somebody's professional career."
Time will tell if she can actually return.
