The Athletic released its investigation findings into the matter involving Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel on Thursday. 97.1 The Ticket’s Mike Valenti didn’t buy a word of the findings published by the online outlet.
What We Know: Standards editor Mike Semel led The Athletic’s five-month review and found that Dianna Russini violated newsroom standards through her undisclosed relationship with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel. Semel reviewed 903 stories about Vrabel’s coverage and found no inaccuracies. Still, he called the resort photos a clear conflict of interest. Valenti addressed the report Thursday on The Valenti Show with Rico on 97.1 The Ticket. He says the nature of the story used to be one that would end outlets like The Athletic.
What They Said: (All quotes via 97.1 The Ticket):
Mike Valenti believes Dianna Russini had plenty to hide: “Here’s the biggest problem I have. If you have nothing to hide, if you are not guilty, turn over your phone. Innocent people don’t throw their phones in a lake. If they couldn’t gain access to her phone, you’re guilty. You’re guilty, honey.”
Mike Valenti says The Athletic must be held liable for this: “The Athletic has to own this. They have to own that one of their highest-paid employees seems like, sounds like, feels like, was banging an NFL head coach who’s married. Then named her kid the same name as this guy. And by the way, nine months before that kid was born, she spent two straight weekends in Nashville covering Titans games. Who coached the Titans? [Mike] Vrabel. Nine months later, a magic bean pops out, and she names it Mike. Like, come on, man.”
Mike Valenti says he disappointed in the findings of The Athletic’s investigation: “This is the problem I have with sports now. Do an investigation about yourself, and you find yourself awesome. You’re just getting openly gaslit. This is the type of journalistic breach that should end an outlet. I mean, are you kidding me?”
Mike Valenti says ESPN didn’t cover this because of their relationship to the NFL: “The Athletic is a pimple on an elephant’s ass when it comes to the general media. They can’t compete with an ESPN. ESPN would rather tell you what some idiot WNBA player did, or give you an article about Toons the driving cat. They didn’t touch this story. You know why? Because they’re like so many other people in media. They’re bought.”
Mike Valenti says the Russini story is bigger than it’s being made to be: “This is an unholy union. This breaks the trust of every fan and every customer you have. It’s a big story. Do I care who Dianna Russini is using as a pogo stick? I do not. But when it’s a head coach, it’s less about the hee hees and hahas, and more about the problem we have in media today. No one’s honest; they’re all bought.”
What Remains Unclear: Semel’s report never determined the full nature of the Russini-Vrabel relationship. However, it’s unclear whether Vrabel or the Patriots will respond to Valenti’s remarks.
What It Means: Valenti’s reaction keeps this story alive well past the report’s release. He fully believes the findings after five month of investigation don’t match the impact the photos had on credibility with sports journalism. Whether or not Russini makes any comeback in sports media is yet to be defined. However, whether or not an audience or following will trust her moving forward is unknown. Also, if outlets would sign on for her services past the findings of this report are also in doubt.
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