Dianna Russini’s former The Athletic colleague and co-host Chase Daniel, addressed the “unfortunate” scandal between the NFL reporter and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, amid speculation of a years-long affair.
The former Los Angeles Chargers quarterback — who hosted “The Scoop” with Russini, 43, until the show was axed amid her mid-April resignation from The Athletic — told “The Jim Rome Show” Thursday that the controversy is “something that’s unfortunate in many different ways.”
”It has turned into quite the assignment of everything,” said Daniel, 39. “It’s like TMZ is covering it, the Wall Street [Journal], all these things are covering it. So I’m sure she’ll land on her feet somewhere and that’s all I’ll really say about that.”
Since he and the “SportsCenter” alum “haven’t really talked about it,” Daniel said he’s “going to leave that there. That’s their business.”
Russini and Vrabel, 50, have been in hot water since poolside photos of the pair were published early last month from a March 2025 stay at an exclusive Arizona hotel.
The two dismissed any suggestion of impropriety. But The Athletic — which is owned by The New York Times — shortly thereafter initiated a probe into Russini’s conduct, only for her to announce her resignation.
More photos of the pair — both of whom share two sons with their respective spouses — have since been published from sightings over the years, including when they appeared to kiss at a New York bar in early 2020 and enjoyed a casino together in 2024.
Vrabel on April 23 announced he’d miss the third day of the NFL draft to seek “counseling.”
Other interactions that have proved grist for the mill include when the football coach and a heavily pregnant Russini reportedly rented a boat together in summer 2021, as well as when she interviewed him in 2025 and asked about his wife, Jen.
The internet has also dredged up multiple clips in which Russini has made jokes at the expense of her husband, Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt, who she wed in late 2020. One includes a virtual appearance in front of Vrabel, in which she joked that one might need to close their eyes during marital sex.