Dianna Russini confronts Mike Vrabel situation in first appearance back

Dianna Russini is happy to be once again talking about the world of NFL football, and that makes sense.

One could almost sense relief in watching Russini's debut on BetUs for her new show named "The Russini Report." Again, that makes sense. For the past seven months, rather than her talking about the NFL, seemingly the entirety of the NFL world was talking about her.

If you don't know the reason why, you may have been under a rock that was impenetrable to both NFL and pop culture news. In April, photos were released showing Russini, then a top NFL reporter for "The Athletic", holding hands with and hugging New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.

This led to an internal investigation at The New York Times, which owns The Athletic, and to Russini's resignation. For Vrabel, it led to "difficult conversations" with people in his life that he cares about. 

While adults, both are married to other people.

It also led to questions about Russini's "insider access" and the ethical standards of her journalism. The Times concluded its investigation and admitted that Russini was "noncompliant" with the reporting standards at The Athletic.

Vrabel faced no professional consequences while Russini disappeared for a while. She recently popped back up with BetUs, which is a far cry from The Athletic, and he addressed her absence on her first show.

“You know, over the last few months, I have had a lot of time to think about my life and my priorities and the person I want to be moving forward and being home in New Jersey with my husband and our two little boys and being truly present. It gave me so much perspective that I didn’t even know I needed,” Russini said (h/t NBC News).

Dianna Russini visibly bristled at the mention of Mike Vrabel  

Russini didn't directly mention the scandal, and she certainly didn't mention her current status with Vrabel, though interestingly, one of her first guests was Bill Parcells — who has a significant tie to the Patriots. He was their head coach and general manager from 1993 to 1996.

She also spoke with sports radio personality Damon Amendolara, not to be confused with Danny Amendola. He straight-up went for it and asked Russini if she's seen any good memes lately, and he brought up the "Tiny Desk" meme featuring Vrabel, Russini and several Patriots players.

“To have Vrabel and Patriots playing, outstanding, and then the big reveal having you on sax, was amazing,” Amendolara said. “That, to me, was peak apex Dianna Russini and this whole thing with the memes.”

Russini visibly bristled at the mention of Vrabel.