Former NFL insider Dianna Russini is set to debut her new program, “The Russini Report,” on Wednesday, but media veteran Linda Cohn says Russini’s success will depend on whether she addresses the scandal that made national headlines after photos surfaced of her at an Arizona resort with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
In April, Page Six published photos taken in March showing Russini and Vrabel holding hands at an intimate resort in Arizona. The outlet later released additional photos showing the pair kissing inside Tribeca Tavern on March 11, 2020, six years before the resort pictures were taken.
Speaking on Tuesday’s episode of “The Linda Cohn Show,” Cohn, the former “SportsCenter” host, said the Arizona photos turned Russini into a household name for reasons she likely didn’t want.
“There were a lot of people who didn’t even know who Dianna Russini was before that scandal with Mike Vrabel. Now that she has gotten the curiousity seekers involved, people now know who she is for all the wrong reasons,” Cohn said.
Cohn questioned whether viewers would keep tuning in to the new show, which streams on BetUS TV’s website and X account, if Russini doesn’t confront what happened directly.
“How is she going to keep them after the first show? Because they are going to want to hear her talk about what her spring was when those pictures came out last April, and what did she learn from that,” Cohn said. “If she is smart — she doesn’t want my advice. But if she is smart, she would share the human side of her. That people make mistakes. That she made a big one and that she admit the wrongdoing.”
So far, Russini has avoided naming Vrabel or detailing the Arizona photos. In a recent interview with People to promote the new show, she referred to the episode only as “this situation” and called it a “nightmare,” without explaining what led to the fallout.
A since-deleted X post from the account for “The Russini Report” suggested she would not be discussing the matter on air.
Cohn argued that avoiding the subject could backfire.
“Everybody makes mistakes. Maybe they don’t make that kind of mistake but people make mistakes,” Cohn said. “If she can look in the mirror and talk like that to her new viewers, and admit fault and admit mistakes, just maybe she will keep those people around each and every Wednesday on her new show.”
Russini resigned from The Athletic on April 14 and largely stayed out of the public eye in the months that followed. Five months later, The Athletic released the findings of its internal investigation into her relationship with Vrabel, concluding she had been “noncompliant” with the outlet’s standards.
Along with the new weekly hour-long show, Russini will write a regular column and appear as a featured contributor on Jon “Stugotz” Weiner’s podcast, “Nobody’s Safe.”
In her interview with People, Russini credited Weiner with standing by her during the controversy.
“In a time when it was easy to pile on, and I think people were enjoying watching my career fall apart, Jon was really bold and loyal, and he was a friend to me,” Russini said.
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