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By Michael Gallagher
Sports Content Coordinator
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Dianna Russini’s return to sports media was always going to come with some baggage. Now it’s coming with a credential problem too.
Seven months after she resigned from The Athletic in the fallout from the Mike Vrabel scandal, the former NFL insider plans to apply for a press credential for Radio Row during Super Bowl week in Los Angeles, according to Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel, Mark Maske, and Michael McCarthy.
However, getting into NFL buildings could be a different story.
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Executives for multiple teams told FOS they would turn down a Russini request to cover a home game or report from their facility during the practice week if she applied under the BetUS banner. BetUS is the offshore sportsbook that debuted her weekly show, “The Russini Report,” on Wednesday.
It should be noted that those executives pointed to BetUS — not her alleged relationship with the Patriots head coach — was the issue.
“One NFL team executive cited BetUS and told FOS that it ‘wouldn’t credential her, probably, because of the outlet. If she got back with The Athletic, we’d probably have to credential her,’” FOS reported.
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“Under those circumstances, the executive said the team would ‘probably have to put everyone on notice” but would “probably do it.’ The executive described BetUS as ‘this b.s. outlet’ and said the team would deny any request by Russini due to her tie to the betting company. That stance would not change, the person said, if Russini were to cite iHeart instead of BetUS.”
iHeartMedia is the route Russini plans to take: she’ll cite her iHeart affiliation, where she’s set to debut a podcast with Jon “Stugotz” Weiner, according to FOS.
Not every team is lining up to shut her out though. One said it would research the outlet and her coverage plans before deciding, while another said it would be willing to credential her depending on the request.
The NFL controls credentials for the Super Bowl, and teams handle access for regular-season games and practices. Applications for Super Bowl LXI, set for Feb. 14 at SoFi Stadium, are due Dec. 4. The NFL didn’t respond to FOS’ request for comment, and Russini and her publicist declined to comment.
Russini resigned from The Athletic in April after the New York Post’s Page Six published photos of her and Vrabel at an adults-only resort in Arizona. The Athletic’s investigation, released in September, found she should have told her editors about the nature of the relationship.
Still, Russini doesn’t need a credential to break news. Her X post on Tuesday about the Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback trade talks drew nearly 5 million views, and the Vikings later traded for Kirk Cousins.
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