The Dan LeBatard Show/NBC Sports Boston
While ESPN has been conspicuously avoiding discussing the Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel scandal, there is one show that’s been willing to bring it up: Inside the NBA. After the Celtics lost Game 7 to the 76ers on Saturday night, Inside the NBA included Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel in their famed “Gone Fishing” segment.
After the Boston Celtics were booted from the playoffs in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers, Inside the NBA rolled out its long-running “Gone Fishing” graphic — a segment that roasts the eliminated team and everyone associated with them.
The Celtics version hit out at Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Bill Simmons, Mark Wahlberg, John Krasinski, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in Good Will Hunting, and Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini, who posed as Jack and Rose in the iconic Titanic “I’m flying” scene. Famously, only Rose survives through the end of the film.
Inside the NBA made fun of Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel in its “Gone Fishing” segment by comparing them to Jack and Rose on the Titanic
‘Inside the NBA’ on ESPN includes Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel on the “Gone Fishing” graphic for the Boston Celtics. pic.twitter.com/NxhFY302aq
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 4, 2026
Back in April, photos published by Page Six showed Russini and Vrabel holding hands and hugging at Ambiente Sedona, a luxury adults-only resort in Arizona.
Russini resigned from The Athletic on April 14 amid an internal investigation before additional photos of the pair kissing at a New York City bar in March 2020 subsequently surfaced. Vrabel publicly acknowledged his actions at an NFL Draft press conference and confirmed he would be attending counseling.
Russini has remained out of the public eye since, with her X account deleted and Instagram private. Vrabel, meanwhile, has the support of both Patriots players and fans, both of which have vocally voiced their support for the 2025 AP NFL Coach of the Year.