Dianna Russini to host weekly NFL betting show on BetUS platforms after April resignation

Dianna Russini will return to sports media with a weekly one-hour NFL betting show backed by offshore sportsbook BetUS, she announced on Monday; the programme will stream on BetUS TV’s website and X account.

The announcement comes seven months after Russini resigned from her role as the Athletic’s top NFL insider following an internal review. In April the New York Post published photos of Russini and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel at an Arizona resort, taken around the time of the NFL owners meetings in March; some images appeared to show the two embracing and holding hands and both said the interaction was platonic. The New York Times-owned outlet began a review after additional photos and reporting raised questions about the relationship, and Russini resigned on 14 April.

Titled The Russini Report, the new programme will be accompanied by a weekly analysis column; BetUS has described it as a "live NFL betting show." The company said it will feature game previews, matchup breakdowns and guest interviews.

The Athletic announced the findings of its investigation in September, saying it did not find signs of bias in Russini’s coverage but that her relationship with Vrabel was in "clear violation" of the newsroom’s standards.

Russini, 43, joined the Athletic in 2023 after an eight-year stint at ESPN. She did not directly address any of the allegations involving Vrabel, who was not investigated by the NFL for his involvement.

In comments to People magazine, Russini said: "The best way to describe what the last six months were like for me is heartbreaking," and added, "At the beginning of this, it was a nightmare." She told People her new show would include analysis on the NFL "along with a lot of my opinions", describing that as "something I wasn’t really allowed to do before." "The way I’m going to approach stories is going to be very different now," she said. "I have an understanding and an empathy that I didn’t have before. I would do stories in the past at the best of my ability, and sometimes now I reflect on those, and I don’t know if I always thought about how much this would affect not just the player, but a team, an organization, the players’ families."

BetUS said the programme will run through the remainder of the season and will include the game previews, matchup breakdowns and guest interviews it outlined.