Dianna Russini’s return to the sports media landscape, seven months after a scandal involving New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel torpedoed her life, got off to a bit of a shaky start.
The debut episode of The Russini Report was scheduled to start streaming on BetUS TV at 12 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 11 — except it didn’t.
When viewers clicked the link to watch, the show was nowhere to be found.
“Doesn’t work. Oh how the mighty have fallen,” one person wrote on social media. Another said, “Great start. Professional cluster#@%&.”
The show’s official X account, which does not have a profile picture, addressed the apparent technical difficulties at 12:24 p.m. ET.
“Well… you broke it. 😅,” the show posted. “The premiere of The Russini Report drew a record-breaking audience today! We’re adding more seats so everyone gets in. Stay with us! We’ll be back shortly. 🙏.”
The account posted again at 12:43 p.m. ET, saying things had been “fixed.”
When the show actually began, Russini, 43, did not address the snafu, leading many to believe the episode itself was not live.
“My goal here is to really help you understand what’s going on around the NFL and why it all matters,” she started the broadcast. “Most importantly on this show, I want you to feel part of all of it. I want you to ask questions, challenge my takes, tell me what your team is doing that’s driving you absolutely crazy.”
She added, “I don’t know if I will have the answers, but I will try and find them for you.”
The show marked Russini’s return to the spotlight after she resigned from her job as The Athletic’s senior NFL insider in April, days after Page Six published photos of Russini and Vrabel, 51, looking cozy at a luxury resort in Arizona the month prior.
Subsequent photos and videos released of Russini and Vrabel showed a years-long relationship between the pair, including pictures published by Page Six seemingly showing the two kissing at a New York City bar in March 2020.
Russini has been married to her husband, Kevin Goldschmidt, since September 2020. Vrabel has been married to his wife, Jen, since 1999. (Russini has never publicly admitted to an affair with Vrabel.)
Prior to the premiere of her new show, Russini reflected on the aftermath of the scandal.
“The best way to describe what the last six months were like for me is heartbreaking,” Russini, told People in a story published on Monday, November 9. “At the beginning of this, it was a nightmare.”
She added, “The lies became so out of control. This was a runaway train, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Once we realized nothing was going to stop this, it became unhealthy for us to read it because it wasn’t helping us heal. It was piling on and adding to what we were already dealing with.”
