What started as a brief headline turned into something far more complicated for The Athletic. Dianna Russini, the outlet’s lead NFL insider since 2023, found herself at the center of attention after photos surfaced showing her with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at an Arizona resort.

Page Six published images of the two holding hands poolside ahead of league meetings in Phoenix. Both denied any romantic involvement and insisted they were just friends.

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The Athletic initially backed Russini, but the organization shifted course and launched an internal investigation. Russini won’t be reporting until that investigation wraps up, and the situation inside The Athletic appears to be getting messier.

John Ourand wrote in his latest Varsity newsletter that tensions are building within the company, which operates under The New York Times umbrella. He pointed to rising friction between The Athletic and Times leadership, describing the dynamic as fragmented.

Russini works for The Athletic, but the Times owns it, and that dual structure brings layered complications. Ourand described leadership as divided, with internal disputes already shaping the culture long before this controversy landed. The Russini matter only added fuel to existing problems.

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Times staffers worry that Athletic reporters operate under looser editorial standards, and this case struck a nerve. Some fear it reflects poorly on the entire organization.

Neither Vrabel nor Russini commented further after their initial denials. The Times Guild is pushing to bring The Athletic under its umbrella, blocking the use of nonunion labor that could undercut existing roles.

That demand complicates things more than if Russini still worked at ESPN. An already delicate relationship between The Athletic and The New York Times just got another layer of difficulty stacked on top.