The Athletic's internal investigation into an alleged affair between reporter Dianna Russini and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel has drawn responses from both individuals, with both stating they have moved on from the matter.
The Athletic published the results of its investigation on Thursday, labeling Russini's relationship with Vrabel a "clear violation" of newsroom standards. In a statement to The Athletic, Russini said, "I stand by any and all reporting I’ve ever done in my career."
When asked about the report during a press conference on Thursday, Vrabel responded, "No, I don’t have any reaction to that." He added, "We’re moved on and focused on Seattle and focused on the Patriots and focused on getting better this week."
Mike Semel, the editorial director for standards and editorial quality at The Athletic, wrote in the outlet's report that "regardless of whether the relationship [between Russini and Vrabel] was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed."
Semel, however, also noted that he "had not found a clear link to conclude that Russini used her platform to help promote Vrabel or help his teams during her time at The Athletic." He did acknowledge that "there are examples of Russini writing glowingly of Vrabel that in hindsight are awkward or even uncomfortable."
An extensive review of Russini's work for The Athletic, which included 903 stories, 77 videos, and 204 episodes of the "Scoop City" podcast, revealed that "the vast majority of Russini’s work for The Athletic had nothing to do with Vrabel, the teams he was coaching or the players the team was pursuing."