During the 2025-26 NFL Playoffs, Jacksonville reporter Lynn Jones took an insane amount of heat on social media, when she consoled head coach Liam Coehn following his team's playoff loss.
Dozens of members of the NFL media, and the sports world at large, criticized Jones for being "unprofessional" and setting a "bad example" for future journalists.
Where are those same people regarding the Dianna Russini, Mike Vrabel situation right now? A lot of them have stayed quiet.
Russini, an NFL insider for The Athletic, and Vrabel, the head coach of the Patriots, were spotted hugging, lounging by the pool in swimsuits and hanging out at a luxury resort before the NFL meetings in Arizona last week. Both Russini and Vrabel have released statements, saying that Page Six's report is highly misleading and lacks context.
“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” Vrabel told the New York Post. “This doesn’t deserve any further response.”
Both Vrabel and Russini said that they were there with friends, who just weren't photographed. Page Six's report suggested otherwise.
“A Page Six spy tells us that the pair — both married to other people — had breakfast on the patio of the hotel restaurant around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, before spending a leisurely hour or so together at the pool and lounging side-by-side in a hot tub,” their report states. “Our spy spotted Vrabel and Russini again that evening on the private rooftop of one of the hotel’s bungalows, which feature glass walls offering panoramic views of the state’s famed Red Rock formations.”
ESPN.
Regardless of the nature of Russini and Vrabel's relationship, lounging at the pool, in a swimsuit, with an NFL head coach that you cover is at least on the same level as consoling a head coach following a playoff loss, right?
So, why isn't there as much outrage from journalists on social media this time as there was in the Lynn Jones situation?
NFL fans calling out double standard
"That Mike Vrabel Dianna Russini scandal hilarious cuz when Jaguars reporter Lynn Jones was consoling Liam Coen, A TON of reporters was getting on their soapboxes to preach to us about journalistic integrity (understandably so) I want those same reporters to keep that same energy," one fan wrote.
"Lynn Jones of Jacksonville is owed an apology from nfl journalism twitter," Clarence Hill Jr. added.
"I’m still waiting to hear from the horde of big J Journalists who felt the need to call her out. Wondering where they’re at, phone service down? Internet out?" one fan added.
"Exactly," one fan added.
Russini is catching a lot of heat, deserved or undeserved on social media, but it doesn't feel like nearly as much is coming from professional journalists as it did with the Lynn Jones situation.
