As expected, Dianna Russini made her return to sports media on Wednesday, with a one-hour show hosted by a illegal offshore sports betting.
It’s not exactly a top-notch gig, but she “crisis publicist” managed to create a lot of hype – and develop a puff piece with People.com which included no questions about the circumstances that led to Russini’s resignation from Athletics.
In September, the New York Post reported that Russini “shares his version of the scandal by accepting his next job. That’s not the case, and she didn’t do it in the first episode of her new show.
Technical difficulties delayed the release of the first episode, which was supposed to be live but appeared entirely pre-recorded. (The company blamed “record viewership” for the problem. Comparable to what?)
Once the episode finally appeared, it featured three guests (none of whom are current players or coaches), preceded by a segment in which she addressed the future of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Which, from an editorial standpoint, isn’t really NFL news the day after the trade deadline.
There was nothing new or particularly insightful about Jackson. It was a summary of the facts that everyone who paid attention to the situation already knew, with a not-so-revolutionary claim that the Ravens want to keep him around beyond 2026.
More importantly, the woolly mammoth in the mud room was not addressed. The main message was that she was gone for a while, went through some hardships, and now she’s back. For anyone who doesn’t know the story, she hasn’t said anything that can even begin to shed light on it.
If it’s an opinion and interview show, that’s not a problem. If it is to include factual reporting about the NFL, the issue of credibility cannot be ignored.
And it’s not about the relationship (or anything) with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel. It’s about how she responded to it.
She issued a categorical denial when the Job posted the photos of the two of them at a resort in Arizona. A week later, she abruptly resigned from her position at Athleticscomplaining that “commentators in various media outlets have engaged in self-sustaining speculation that is simply detached from the facts.”
In the months since this claim, she has not shared her own version of events. In his interview with People.com, Russini said the “lies have gotten so out of control.” Without identifying even one of the alleged lies.
Her nothing to see here This position was undermined by Vrabel himself, who abandoned his initial position that the early photos “show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion to the contrary.” is laughable.” Then came another group of photosfrom March 2020, which had a know-it-when-you-see-it atmosphere regarding the specific nature of the relationship. That prompted Vrabel to step away from the team for the all-important third day of the draft to attend counseling with his family.
So, until now, Russini’s official position is that it was all nothing serious. Vrabel’s words and the actions clearly show that it was something, whatever it was. (That video of the boat ride That didn’t help much either.)
Beyond the fact that Athletics concluded, following an internal investigation, that “Russini’s relationship with Vrabel was in flagrant violation of Athletics“, the situation raises clear questions of credibility. Simply put, can the public believe what she is saying?
This brings us to the other issue, which has been largely overlooked in relation to its return to sports media – whether an hour-long show hosted by an illegal offshore sports betting site even counts for that. In February, she said she was arrested for texting while driving. She claimed she confronted a current head coach to get her off the ticket. And, based on body camera footage released by local authorities, that claim was flat out wrong.
Forget the relationship with Vrabel. All insiders have compromised their journalistic integrity in one way or another. The public’s interests often take a back seat to the broader chess game of getting and staying in position to get “scoops” (which usually come in the form of a five-minute warning before a deal is announced). Punches are fired. Relevant stories are overlooked or downplayed. Favors are granted to sources.
It’s one thing to be compromised. It’s another to have real problems when it comes to telling the truth. Because the fundamental principle of anyone engaging in reporting of any kind is that they are always tell the truth.
Even in post-truth America, this is a standard that should never be relaxed.
Russini’s credibility was damaged by his denials regarding the relationship (whatever it was) with Vrabel, and by Vrabel’s actions that undermined his denials. Plus, casually and nonchalantly telling a fake story over FaceTiming a coach to get out of a ticket makes it even harder to believe anything she says.
That’s why I said last Saturday on #PFTPM that we will ignore his every report until his credibility is somehow restored, if that is even possible at this point. In this profession, it would be very easy to make claims and present them as news from an anonymous source. When someone has not one but two concrete examples of clear problems when it comes to telling the truth, it would be irresponsible of us to blindly accept this reporter’s reports and use them here.
It’s that simple. People may not like some of the things we report, but the goal at all times is to be fully and completely honest with the public. Part of that duty of honesty is saying with brutal honesty that one simply cannot trust the word of someone who has, in multiple ways, undermined one’s own credibility.
Gn sports
