Russini-Vrabel fallout puts media ethics to the test | Opinion

I’m a big sports fan and consume a lot of sports media − writing, TV and radio. I also have a career background in sports media and sports media relations. Somehow, though, I whiffed on ever being much aware of The Athletic’s Dianna Russini until her unintended New York Post reveal as an obviously "close" friend to New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel .

If you haven’t seen the photos from a posh adults-only resort , please know that Russini and Vrabel were captured hugging, not like brother and sister, all alone on a private rooftop. They were also snapped at close quarters in a pool with both parties showing plenty of skin. As I learned a little more about Russini, I was quickly struck by her seemingly singular place in the NFL media ecosystem.

She was of the “print” side, writing bylined stories and news as The Athletic’s "NFL Insider," but her persona was unlike any scribe I had known. Bengals founder Paul Brown used to jokingly refer to print reporters as “ink-stained wretches,” and we writers covering the Bengals were proud of his moniker. It conveyed his respect for the journalistic ethic of tirelessly digging for news without being much concerned about your own appearance or glamorous reputation.

Different standards, different expectations But Russini was clearly no such wretch. Her background before The Athletic was all in television, including prominent on-air roles with DC’s NBC affiliate and with ESPN. And while I’m sure she did plenty of great NFL reporting, TV is on a different journalistic plane than print.