Two sports journalists could find themselves glued to the couch watching football this coming season after a scandal that rapidly spread through the sports world.
Dianna Russini has dominated headlines for weeks as rumors swirled about her ties to the head coach of an NFL club.
Recently, Russini stepped away from her role at The Athletic, the NYT-affiliated outlet, after viral images of the two together circulated online. She denied any romantic involvement with the coach in question.
Yet the ongoing turmoil has now dragged another person into the spotlight in an unexpected turn of events.
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Russini was photographed in viral images with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, though both denied the rumors, with the two seen embracing and laughing by a pool in Sedona.
A further female journalist joined the viral discourse on social media, voicing her thoughts on Russini’s departure. She asserted that Russini resigned to preempt the scandal, adding a pointed dig.
“I’m sure you were told to submit this or that you’d get fired instead,” USA Today’s Crissy Froyd wrote on X.
“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. We know who you really are and what you’ve been up to for years. It does so much detriment to women in sports who have done things the right way,” she continued.
#Patriots HC Mike Vrabel and Athletic reporter Dianna Russini were seen holding hands and hugging while at a luxury hotel pool in pictures obtained by the New York Post. Vrabel and Russini and both married.
“Both Russini and Vrabel insist they were there with friends and say… pic.twitter.com/OmbDBH2PR1— New England Sports Fellow (@_JosephManning) April 7, 2026
Following her take on Russini’s departure, USA Today terminated its contract with Crissy Froyd “effective immediately.”
“Her recent statements do not reflect our commitment to professionalism or our standards of ethical conduct,” the outlet stated.
“I’m struggling to understand the stance here after that was published,” Froyd remarked after her dismissal. “But apparently I, as an independent contractor, cannot voice my own opinions on my personal social media accounts.”
She indicated she looks forward to the next chapter of her career, while continuing to contribute to other sports-focused outlets.
Social media offered little sympathy as news of her firing circulated. One Instagram user simply commented, “Lesson: you never kick someone when they are down.”
A second person wrote, “Well those claws came out pretty quick.” Meanwhile, a third offered career advice to the newly unemployed freelancer: “When people leave under sour circumstances, you keep your mouth shut.”
I’m sure you were told to submit this or that you’d get fired instead.
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. We know who you really are and what you’ve been up to for years. It does so much detriment to women in sports who have done things the right way. https://t.co/dswaHZjIHL— Crissy Froyd (@crissy_froyd) April 14, 2026
On April 16, Froyd posted, “I regret zero of what I said and stand beside it,” and then awkwardly switched to promoting interview opportunities.
She added, “I also find it fascinating that a Nancy Armour column appeared about Dianna Russini setting women back on USAT, yet my comments as a freelancer on my own social media about her were deemed improper. Be bold and speak out. Will it make me a martyr? Maybe. But some things are worth it, and some are not.”
Froyd noted she was aware of the risk before publishing her initial tweet about Russini, but she refused to retract it. “Sorry for speaking the truth?” the freelancer wrote.
She also reposted another remark stating, “I wasn’t expecting this… It definitely shows that the NFL and its media outlets are rallying around Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel. This is wild.”
Russini explained that she left The Athletic amid “self-feeding speculation … unmoored from the facts.”
“Moreover, this media frenzy is barreling forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is attempting to complete,” read a TMZ-sourced statement. “It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in participating in a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept.”
Another detail quickly circulated online: Russini’s six-year marriage to Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt, with whom she shares two sons, Michael and Joey.
She admitted that her contract with The Athletic expires on June 30. Yet she chose not to linger, saying she would not “lend it further oxygen or let it define me or my career.”
Besides Froyd’s social media remarks about Russini, she also targeted her in an interview.
“From clashes with other reporters in Chili’s parking lots over alleged liaisons with married NFL figures to everything else, it’s almost certainly all true,” Froyd contended. “It was the worst-kept secret in NFL journalism for a long time.”
“At one point someone proposed that Dianna could be my mentor. I declined because I knew what she stood for and her history,” she added.
