Former ESPN host Linda Cohn believes that Dianna Russini must address the allegations of an affair with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel if she hopes to keep viewers tuning into her new show, "The Russini Report." The show is set to debut on Wednesday.
"There were a lot of people who didn’t even know who Dianna Russini was before that scandal with Mike Vrabel," Cohn said on her podcast, "The Linda Cohn Show." "Now that she has gotten the curiousity seekers involved, people now know who she is for all the wrong reasons."
Cohn suggested that Russini should "humanize" herself by admitting fault and discussing the alleged affair. "Everybody makes mistakes. Maybe they don’t make that kind of mistake but people make mistakes," Cohn stated. "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."
Page Six reported in April that photos surfaced showing Russini and Vrabel holding hands at an Arizona resort and later kissing at a New York City bar. The outlet also published photos of the pair kissing inside Tribeca Tavern on March 11, 2020, indicating the relationship predated the March 2026 resort photos.
Russini resigned from The Athletic on April 14, and the publication later released findings from an investigation stating she was "noncompliant" with the company's standards regarding her relationship with Vrabel. In a recent interview with People to promote her new show, Russini referred to the situation as a "nightmare" but did not directly address the allegations or name Vrabel.
A since-deleted post from "The Russini Report" suggested the show would not be addressing the incident. In addition to her new show, Russini will also write a column and contribute to Jon "Stugotz" Weiner's "Nobody's Safe" podcast.