Former ESPN star Michelle Beadle didn't hold back her thoughts on the Dianna Russini situation, that's for sure.
Page Six shook up the NFL community on April 7 by releasing photos of Russini spending time with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel at a hotel in Arizona. Even though she has denied any rumors about an inappropriate relationship, she resigned from her role with The Athletic on Tuesday.
"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," Russini said in her resignation letter. "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."
Beadle addressed Russini's decision during the latest episode of her podcast. Interestingly enough, she called out female reporters and TV personalities who are putting Russini on blast.
"I love Dianna, and I consider her a friend. I’m not 100% sure I understand what two adults’ personal lives, other than with her husband and his wife, those are the two affected, and families. And I don’t want to hear ‘journalistic integrity.’ Stop. Just stop. I’ll tell you where I’m most disappointed. Poor decisions were made; we’ve all made them," Beadle said, via Awful Announcing.
"What I find interesting is the number of female sportspeople who have felt very comfortable in getting out there and blasting her. Ladies, at some point, I will write a book. And the more I see you yapping out there about all this high and mighty self-righteous, I know a lot about a lot of you. So be careful. And by the way, I’ve made stupid mistakes too. I was just lucky enough to have done them before all this sort of social media, everybody’s got a camera life. That is a blessing. But let’s be careful on throwing stones. There’s also a lot of misogyny in how this is being covered. She’s got her job on the line; he doesn’t have his job on the line."
© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.
Several media members rip Russini.
Beadle might be willing to go to bat for Russini, but there are plenty of people who believe the backlash she has received over the past week is warranted.
"I’m sure you were told to submit this or that you’d get fired instead," Crissy Froyd of USA Today said. "Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. We know who you really are and what you’ve been up to for years. It does so much detriment to women in sports who have done things the right way."
"Practicing unethical journalism and then blaming *the public* for finding out about said unethical conduct instead of yourself is something else," Lindsay Ballant said.
"Comments turned off," Shan Shariff of 105.3 The Fan pointed out. "Blames media coverage and employer for leak. Defiant instead of apologetic which appears to maintain innocence."
"I respect Russini as a journalist, and feel badly for the families involved. However, when you publicly call your husband "average (looking)" on TV and joke, multiple times, about getting a divorce (TV) and wanting to be known as a "MILF" (radio), you lose benefit of the doubt," Andrew Nemec of Prep Redzone said.
It's unclear if Russini will land another gig as an NFL reporter.
