USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Dianna Russini on the field.
ESPN’s Dianna Russini received support from unexpected places.
For the past six months, Russini has been laying low from the spotlight after resigning from her job at The Athletic when she was outed for having an affair with Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
On Monday, ahead of the launch of her new BetUS TV show, the Russini Report, Russini spoke publicly about what she’s had to endure while being at the center of a scandal.
“The best way to describe what the last six months were like for me is heartbreaking,” Russini tells PEOPLE exclusively. “At the beginning of this, it was a nightmare.”
Russini went on to say she received support from various NFL players, including one who would text her at 5am before heading into practice.
Via People
I felt like players were texting and calling me to say, ‘Get back to work, it’s time,’ ” she says. “I think it’s pretty poetic that here I was all these years telling the story about these players going through adversity, and then they became sort of the people that I was learning from during this.”
According to Russini, one player even texts her on his way to work at 5 a.m. to ask what she’s doing to better herself and reminds her “that you have to stay strong through hard times.”
“I’m using a lot of that as motivation, and it’s why I’m so energized,” she says. “It’s why I’m not scared to get back in because I know the people that I cover are welcoming me back with open arms.”
NFL fans thought it was strange that an NFL player would be texting her at 5am.
who are these dirty dogs hitting up Russini at 5am https://t.co/VYCgy5HN18
— uncle jack (@PintOfJack) November 9, 2026
He wasn’t checking it. He was tryna smash. Guaranteed!!
— Ziven (@TheRealZiven) November 9, 2026