Dianna Russini Reportedly Claims That Photos From Resort Were A "Sexist Attack"

Why take accountability when you can claim "MiSoGyNy"?

Elle Duncan and Michelle Beadle turned the Dianna Russini scandal into a "gender grievance."Jemele Hill claimed "misogyny," while she was on the Dan LeBatard Show. Now Russini herself,according to a bombshell report from Ben Strauss of ESPN citing three people with internal knowledge of the situation, claimed the photos of her with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at a secluded, romantic, adults-only Sedona resort "were a sexist attack on a female reporter in a male-dominated field."

I wish I could say I was surprised, and it certainly is a worse response than Vrabel claiming the photos showcased "a completely innocent interaction." But perpetual victimhood is what our culture has shoved down women's throats for years now, especially in sports media. This is a perfect example of emotional argumentation meant to vilify the ones exposing the truth. It's character assassination through popular buzzwords and insults to avoid accountability.

There have been no reports as to what extent Russini and Vrabel's relationship consisted of sexually, but what is certain is that Russini broke The New York Times' ethics policy on avoiding conflicts, which states: "Relationships with sources require sound judgment to prevent the fact or appearance of partiality... It is essential we preserve a detachment, free of any whiff of bias."

What she did was a clear violation of a code of ethics and conduct. That's not "sexism."

The most damning part of Strauss' article was reportedly the fact that Russini could not provide a single shred of evidence to prove she was indeed on a "girls hiking trip." Like OutKick's Bobby Burack said Tuesday, while reaching out to his sources, Russini may have "participated in the first ever girls trip without photos." It's impossible to read Russini's statement and not understand how utterly ridiculous her story was.

The article also revealed that "Athletic executives held a series of meetings Tuesday afternoon" and they came to the conclusion that they "believed Russini's version of events and decided to back her publicly." The lack of proper journalism done by The Athletic is egregious malpractice, in my opinion. The Athletic failed to properly ensure the truth was being told and took the story at face value, while claiming in its statement to The Post, "These photos are misleading and lack essential context. These were public interactions in front of many people."

As for Vrabel, it was reported to Strauss by league spokesman Brian McCarthy that the NFL will not review the conduct of the New England Patriots head coach in the wake of photos taken of him with Russini.

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