Former ESPN reporter Dianna Russini pulled out every NFL connection she had when a police officer caught her texting and driving — and newly released body-cam footage shows she wasn’t telling the truth about what happened next.
The footage reveals Russini name-dropped three NFL head coaches in a single traffic stop, trying to talk her way out of a ticket.
But the story she told on a podcast months later? Not what the video shows.
A recent New York Times article exposed the January incident as part of a broader investigation into Russini’s past. Her former employer, The Athletic, is now investigating whether her reporting was compromised by a romantic relationship with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
In a February podcast appearance, Russini bragged about pulling “a nasty play” — claiming she Facetimed with the officer’s favorite team’s coach to escape the ticket.
“So, he names the team [that he is a fan of] and I go, ‘Oh, I love that team. Do you want to talk to the coach? You should talk to the coach.'”
According to her version, the ploy worked.
The body-cam footage tells a different story.
At no point did Russini Facetime with any coach.
Instead, she launched into a rapid-fire name-drop session the moment the officer approached her window.
“So — you’re not gonna care — I’m an NFL reporter, and I just wrote that Sean McDermott got fired from the Bills,” Russini told the officer. “And that is what I was just sending. I sent a tweet, and I was gonna pull over because I have to make calls. I know you don’t care, but I’m just letting you know my reason why. It was a work thing, and it was an emergency for what I do.”
The officer pointed out that Russini had been on her phone for quite a while.
Russini told the officer she had been on the phone with then-New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll.
When the officer revealed he was a Minnesota Vikings fan, she quickly showed him her phone to reveal she had recently texted with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
“Oh my God, KOC!” the officer replied.
Russini and the officer talked about the Vikings briefly before he let her off with a warning and a request: “Keep me updated with the Vikings.”
The discrepancy between Russini’s podcast story and the body-cam reality raises questions about her credibility — questions that come at an already difficult time for the former NFL insider.
