Dianna Russini pulled an older man and his dog from an overturned Jeep in New Jersey on Wednesday, just hours after stepping down from the Athletic over an internal investigation tied to published photographs of her with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
The rescue occurred around 5pm in Wyckoff when a 17-year-old driving a Honda Civic struck the Jeep, flipping it onto its side. Russini, who happened to be driving behind the wrecked vehicle, stopped and climbed atop the Jeep to open its door. Working with another bystander, she helped extract the 73-year-old driver and the dog trapped inside.
The Jeep driver was taken to a local hospital complaining of head and shoulder pain. The dog was unharmed and given to a friend of the driver. The Honda driver sustained no injuries, and no citations were issued at the scene.
Russini's emergency intervention concluded a turbulent 26-hour span. On Tuesday, she resigned from the Athletic, owned by the New York Times, as the outlet investigated her coverage of Vrabel and the nature of their relationship. Page Six had published photographs of the two interacting at an Arizona resort before NFL owners' meetings on March 29, sparking questions about potential conflicts of interest.
Both Russini and Vrabel, who are married to other people, stated the photographed interactions were platonic and had been taken out of context. The Athletic's review centered on whether their relationship violated New York Times ethics policies designed to prevent the appearance of partiality in reporting.
In her resignation letter, Russini wrote that she had covered the NFL with professionalism throughout her career and stood behind every story she published. She disputed the narrative constructed around the episode, saying she refused to participate in a public inquiry that had already caused substantial damage.
An ESPN report on Friday revealed that Russini and Vrabel had coordinated responses to the Page Six photographs. However, an NFL spokesperson said the league would not initiate a personal conduct review of Vrabel, indicating the matter fell outside the scope of league discipline policies.
Russini joined the Athletic in 2023 after spending nearly a decade at ESPN, where she held roles including SportsCenter anchor and NFL analyst.
Author James Rodriguez: "A heroic act doesn't erase the credibility questions, but it certainly complicates the narrative around someone caught in the crossfire of a messy scandal."
Comments