Dave Portnoy says Dianna Russini’s resignation from the Athletic makes “zero sense” after the sports journalist’s letter announcing her exit was publicized.
“If we’re just being honest this explanation really makes zero sense. I don’t think anybody should lose their job over alleged canoodling but this statement makes it seem like there was definitely canoodling happening,” the Barstool Sports founder wrote via X Tuesday.
“An innocent canoodler would prob welcome a thorough investigation to prove their innocence and exonerate themselves right? This screams guilty canoodler to me.”
Russini’s resignation letter, addressed to Athletic Executive Editor Steven Ginsberg and sent Tuesday afternoon, comes days after Page Six published photos of her at a luxury hotel with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
Portnoy first weighed in on the bombshell snaps on Monday, speculating that “something beyond a friendship was happening” between Russini and Vrabel — who are both married to other people.
“They’re both married with kids. So, in that respect, very sad story,” Portnoy, 49, said during his “Wake Up Barstool” sports talk show, claiming that it is nothing but a “personal issue” for the NFL coach.
For Russini, Portnoy admitted it got “dicey” because “you cannot cross the line with your sources.”
He still argued that neither party should lose their jobs over the scandal.
“So maybe she crossed a work line, which will cause her to be terminated. Now she’s not dealing with nuclear codes. She’s not dealing with politicians. It’s football,” he explained.
Russini had been at the Athletic since 2023 and had the title of Senior NFL Insider.
In her resignation letter, the journalist said her decision to resign is because “commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts,” and she wants to stop more damage surrounding the situation.
After her bombshell statement, Ginsberg confirmed Russini’s resignation in a memo to the Athletic staff, noting that “additional information emerged” and “new questions were raised that became part of our investigation.”
Last week, Page Six exclusively obtained photos of Russini and Vrabel holding hands and hugging at the Ambiente in Sedona on March 28.
An eyewitness us that the pair had breakfast on the patio of the hotel restaurant around 10:30 a.m. on March 28 before spending a leisurely hour or so together at the pool and lounging side-by-side in a hot tub.
After the photos surfaced, the Athletic, which the New York Times obtained in 2022, sidelined Russini and launched an investigation into the matter.
Both Vrabel, 50, and Russini, 43, addressed the photos in statements to Page Six.
“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable. This doesn’t deserve any further response,” Vrabel told us.
Russini also told us, “The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day. Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”
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