Dianna Russini may be planning a comeback.
The former senior NFL insider for The Athletic has hired veteran crisis publicist Melissa Nathan ahead of a possible return to work, according to Page Six.
Nathan has worked with Logan Paul, Johnny Depp and Justin Baldoni, in the past, among others. She also finds herself in the midst of her own controversy, fighting allegations that she orchestrated online smear campaigns against Blake Lively as Baldoni’s publicist. She has denied any wrongdoing.
Russini, 43, is currently plotting her next move after her resignation in April amid the fallout of her scandal involving New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel. It all started earlier that month when Page Six published photos of the pair at an Arizona resort. They both claimed the pictures were innocent, but additional photos and videos soon emerged that cast doubt on their statements.
“I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published,” she wrote in a statement shared via social media when she resigned. “When the Page Six item first appeared, The Athletic supported me unequivocally, expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism. For that I am grateful. In the days that followed, unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.”
The Athletic, however, released its findings from an internal investigation into Russini’s relationship with Vrabel, 51, in September, writing that she was in “clear violation” of the company’s standards.
While Russini has been out of the public eye, she has received some support from her colleagues. The Athletic’s Mike Silver appeared on the “Tom Tolbert Show” in August, where he called Russini a “really good friend of mine.”
“And I do think she’s going to be back, probably not as an insider, at least in the short term,” he said. “But I think she’ll be back in this realm, probably talking about football and other things pretty soon.”
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy even told Us in June that Russini would be welcome at his sports media empire.
“No-brainer, if she wanted to work here, we’d do it,” Portnoy, 49, said.
Russini’s former ESPN colleague Jon “Stugotz” Wiener said the same on his radio show, even before her resignation was official.
“I’ll tell you this on the front end of any Dianna Russini discussion I’m going to have. If The Athletic gets rid of her, she’ll be sitting right next to me and Izzy doing the show,” Stugotz said on an April episode of his Fox Sports radio show, Stugotz and Company. “I support my friends, I don’t bail on my friends, especially at their worst professional time in their history. I don’t do that to them, OK?”
