USA TODAY Sports
Dianna Russini on the red carpet.
Dianna Russini is facing pushback ahead of her comeback.
On Wednesday, Russini will launch a new show with BetUS TV, nearly 7 months after she resigned from The Athletic following the NY Post’s publication of romantic photos of her with married Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
Russini’s team insists she will not talk about the affair, and she told People magazine that she hopes to inspire women with her comeback.
Via People
“I really hope that I can be someone other women see: you can pick yourself up, get back in there and not be afraid,” she says. “Because if you just do the work — and I hope to continue working at a high level — that’s all that’s going to matter. And I hope that quiets the noise.”
Former ESPN host Linda Cohn reacted to Rossini’s comeback by advising her to talk about the Vrabel affair.
“There were a lot of people who didn’t even know who Diana Rossini was before that scandal with Mike Vrabel. Now that she has gotten the curiosity seekers involved, people now know who she is for all the wrong reasons. How is she going to keep them after the first show? Because they are going to want to hear her talk about what her spring was when those pictures came out last April. And what, and what did she learn from that?”
“She is smart. She doesn’t want my advice. But if she is smart, she would share the human side of her, that people make mistakes, that she made a big one, and that she, she’d admit the wrongdoing.”
Craig Carton ripped into Russini for not taking accountability for her actions and calling herself a role model for women.
Dianna Russini wants to be a “beacon of light” for women in sports media? 🤨
@craigcartonlive says her comeback should’ve started with ACCOUNTABILITY 🔥 https://t.co/JNQkF0Is68
— The Craig Carton Show (@CraigCartonShow) November 10, 2026
“She couldn’t have messed up her return anymore if she tried. You can’t come out and play the role of a victim. You weren’t victimized. You put yourself in a compromised situation by sleeping with a source. You do have to acknowledge that you threw journalistic integrity to the window, and you do have to acknowledge what the story is.”
“Show one has to be about, I know you all saw the photographs, they’re real. Show one’s not about, I hope to be a beacon of light for other women. Maybe for other cheaters. Yeah, okay, sure. But not for gals that are trying to get into sports broadcasting who looked up to you as proof that they could make it, only to see you go down the worst possible stereotype in ruining your career and making it harder for other women to be taken seriously.”
Dianna Russini wants to be a “beacon of light” for women in sports media? 🤨
@craigcartonlive says her comeback should’ve started with ACCOUNTABILITY 🔥 https://t.co/JNQkF0Is68
— The Craig Carton Show (@CraigCartonShow) November 10, 2026