Dianna Russini Bodycam Video Disputes FaceTime Ticket Claim
· Yahoo Sports
The latest chapter in the Dianna Russini saga is raising fresh questions—not about her relationship with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, but about a story she once told to illustrate just how connected she was inside the NFL.
Newly released body camera footage from a traffic stop in Ridgewood, New Jersey, contradicts Russini's earlier claim that she FaceTimed an NFL head coach to get out of a ticket. Instead, the video shows the former NFL insider name-dropping multiple league figures, displaying text messages with one coach, and ultimately receiving only a verbal warning from the responding officer.
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Russini first shared the story during a February appearance on the Stugotz and Company podcast, describing how she had been pulled over while trying to break NFL news.
"I FaceTime the head coach," she said at the time. "I just got pulled over, and I just wanted you to meet my friend, Officer Joe." According to Russini, the coach then told the officer, "You should let her go, she's a good citizen."
But the newly released bodycam footage tells a different story.
The roughly seven-minute encounter contains no FaceTime call with any NFL coach. Instead, Russini immediately explained why she had been using her phone while driving.
"I'm an NFL reporter, and I just broke that Sean McDermott got fired from the Bills," she told the officer. "That is what I was just sending... It was a work thing and it was an emergency for what I do."
As the conversation continued, Russini pivoted back to football. She told the officer she had been speaking with former New York Giants coach Brian Daboll, saying he "wants the job" in Buffalo.
After learning the officer was a Minnesota Vikings fan, she showed him text messages from Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and even joked that the Vikings' "quarterback sucks."
The officer acknowledged her explanation but noted she had been on her phone "for a while." In the end, he exercised discretion rather than issuing a citation.
"I'm gonna cut you a break on the cellphone," the officer said. "I understand your job requires you to be on the phone a lot. Just try to wait 'til you get home, OK?"
The Ridgewood Police Department later confirmed that decision. Chief Forest Ross Lyons said the officer reviewed Russini's driving history before issuing a verbal warning, adding that using discretion in deciding between a warning and a citation is consistent with department policy.
That report highlighted the same podcast appearance and quoted a Times spokeswoman calling Russini's account of using an NFL coach to avoid a ticket "unacceptable."
The Times also revealed that Russini was earning nearly $800,000 annually as The Athletic's senior NFL insider before resigning amid the fallout surrounding photos of her and Patriots coach Mike Vrabel at an Arizona resort.
That controversy snowballed quickly. Page Six published photos showing Russini and Vrabel holding hands, embracing, sitting together in a hot tub, and spending time atop a private bungalow in Sedona, Arizona. Both denied any inappropriate relationship.
"These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable," Vrabel said when the images were first published.
Russini likewise maintained that the photos lacked context, saying they "don't represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day" and adding, "Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues."
Even so, The Athletic launched an internal investigation into whether her relationship with Vrabel created the appearance of a conflict of interest. Russini resigned before that review concluded, writing that she had "no interest in submitting to a public inquiry" fueled by "self-feeding speculation."
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