Aaron Rodgers calls out ESPN for ignoring Dianna Russini-Mike Vrabel scandal: 'What are we doing here?'
· Fox News
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers took his microphone on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Monday and unloaded on Dr. Anthony Fauci and ESPN, the network airing the program, in a diatribe heard ‘round the NFL.
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During his evisceration of ESPN, he called out Dianna Russini, a former reporter with the network before joining The Athletic as an NFL insider.
Russini was embroiled in a major scandal this offseason, as she was alleged to have had an inappropriate relationship with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel. Russini resigned from her role at The Athletic, and Vrabel left the Patriots during the NFL Draft to enter counseling as details began to unfold around his relationship with Russini.
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During his diatribe, Rodgers wondered how an alleged affair like the one Russini had with Vrabel could affect the NFL, while simultaneously roasting ESPN for their lack of coverage compared to other media outlets surrounding the scandal.
"Look at what the network’s doing. You have literally an individual that maybe used to work at ESPN, that covers our league at the highest level, and there’s a major scandal," Rodgers told McAfee and his crew. "And it’s just like nobody can f---ing talk about it? Like, what are we doing here?"
One of McAfee’s co-hosts told Rodgers that he of all people should understand how personal lives are meant to be personal, but Rodgers had a retort.
"I understand, but if it’s affecting certain things – if there’s leaks going on, there’s tampering going on," he said. "If that person is also an MVP voter and Coach of the Year voter. Remember when I won MVP in 2021, and that bum in Chicago – yeah, that’s real life. How are we allowing these people to have an impact?
Rodgers joked, "I told these boys I was bringing it today," pointing to likely producers behind the cameras during the live taping at Steelers training camp.
But it was the truth. A simple question about Rodgers’ mindset heading into his final NFL season this year from McAfee led to him mocking Fauci.
"I’ll plead the Fifth," Rodgers said before going scorched Earth on Fauci, whom he was mocking after the former White House COVID advisor invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times during a Senate hearing last week.
Rodgers, though, also may have a gripe with Russini herself, especially during his time with the New York Jets. It was a failed tenure for the four-time MVP quarterback following years of success with the Green Bay Packers.
During his time in New York, Russini, working for The Athletic at the time, was very active in Jets reporting around the Rodgers turmoil and how the franchise was allegedly being affected by him.
In 2024, The Athletic reported Rodgers wanted to continue playing past that season, but not for the Jets. Rodgers said at the time on McAfee’s show it was "100% false," while ripping into the media.
"There is not a lot of journalistic integrity anymore, I don’t think," Rodgers said, which prompted McAfee to respond by saying, "Standards."
MIKE VRABEL UNTOUCHED BY DIANNA RUSSINI SCANDAL AT FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE OF PATRIOTS TRAINING CAMP
"The standards are what they are," Rodgers replied, while not implicating Russini directly. "Listen, some of the stuff that I’ve read I would say the majority is limited in its truth, and questionable in its content. Meaning, I don’t understand why some of the articles written last year, because it seemed like they were really trying to ruin people’s lives."
Rodgers also mentioned how tight-knit his inner circle is.
"I don’t have anybody, I don’t believe, that is in my inner circle that would spend any time talking to a reporter about other people’s s---, or trying to slam ‘em, or trying to protect themselves," he said. "But, unfortunately, this business has turned into a lot of cover your a--, you know. I guess that’s part of what this is, people trying to cover their a--, so they gotta have a fall guy. It was [former Jets OC Nathaniel] Hackett, it was [former Jets head coach] Robert [Saleh], it was [former Jets GM] Joe [Douglas], then it’s me."
Russini said in 2025 on the "Scoop City" podcast that the Jets gave Rodgers an ultimatum that he won’t be doing interviews on McAfee’s show any longer. Obviously, that didn’t come to fruition.
Rodgers has told ESPN’s top NFL insider, Adam Schefter, to "lose my number" in 2023 when the football world was waiting for his decision on whether he’d retire or not following his darkness retreat. He also noted getting a similar text from Russini, though he didn’t answer. He said if he did, it would’ve been the same answer he gave Schefter.
Russini resigned from her post at The Athletic amid mounting criticism over her relationship with Vrabel after photographs of them hugging and holding hands at a private resort in Sedona, Arizona, went viral. After initially trying to downplay it, saying "reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues," Russini ultimately released her resignation.
After the original photos, others dating back to 2020 showed Vrabel and Russini kissing at a bar in New York City. The pictures exclusively obtained by the New York Post were taken in the early hours of March 11, 2020.
"They were kissing, and they were all over each other," an eyewitness told the outlet. "He had a ring on."
While Russini resigned, Vrabel was back with the Patriots after a counseling visit, which fell on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Vrabel said he had difficult conversations with his family, while also speaking with his players about the situation. The Patriots said before the draft they "fully support" Vrabel, allowing him to seek the counseling he desired despite four rounds of the draft still remaining.
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