Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Adam Schefter largely dodged questions about how he'd treat Dianna Russini's future reporting
Dianna Russini is back in the sports media business after her career-derailing scandal involving an alleged affair with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel earlier this year. As a result, other insiders in her profession are now having to answer for it.
During an interview on Boston radio station WEEI earlier this week, ESPN’s top insider Adam Schefter sounded quite uncomfortable as he answered questions about how he’d personally contend with Dianna Russini’s return to the industry.
Adam Schefter largely dodged questions about how he’d treat Dianna Russini’s reporting now that she’s back in the business
Speaking on the Rich and Ken with Ted Johnson show, Schefter was asked how he would approach Russini’s reporting now that she has returned with a new show for sportsbook BetUS.
Russini debuted her new show The Russini Report in partnership with offshore betting site BetUS this week, roughly seven months after resigning from The Athletic. Her new role includes a weekly live show and column covering NFL news, matchups, and interviews.
🎙️ And now, a word from Dianna Russini.
Welcome to The Russini Report. 🏈🔥
🔗 Watch here: https://t.co/6M35HOITQy
📅PREMIERES THIS WEDNESDAY
⏰12 PM ET https://t.co/h2WUrVkyv8— The Russini Report (@RussiniReport) November 9, 2026
In the exchange, Schefter’s position was that he independently verifies information regardless of who initially reports it. He indicated that Russini’s situation would not change that process, emphasizing his responsibility to confirm facts before reporting them himself.
Essentially, he dodged answering questions about Russini by making the answer about himself.
“I would treat her like everybody else. I have to verify everybody’s information before I report it. So, I don’t think of it as anything different. I don’t think of circumstances like that,” Schefter said. “That’s me. I’m thinking the way I have thought about doing my job, the way I need to do my job, whether it’s Dianna Russini or anybody else doing it.”
The hosts continued questioning whether the circumstances surrounding her departure would affect how he evaluated her work, but Schefter maintained that his focus was on his own reporting.
“I don’t care who’s doing it. Like, I don’t care who it is. I’m not reporting it until I know that it’s true. Period.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was on with Rich, Ken, and Ted and talks about trusting any news being reported by Dianna Russini now that she is back.
@KenLairdWEEI @teddyjradio @heyrichhey https://t.co/c1TyvFYXtc
— WEEI (@WEEI) November 11, 2026
Russini — who worked at ESPN before joining The Athletic in 2023 — resigned from The New York Times’ owned outlet on April 14 after photographs of her with Vrabel at an Arizona resort became public. The outlet subsequently reviewed her reporting and handling of the situation, and ultimately concluded that her undisclosed personal relationship with Vrabel violated newsroom standards. The review also found little evidence that the relationship affected her reporting, thouh.