NFL Reporter Jen Hale Says the Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel Scandal ‘Makes Everything Harder’ for Women in Sports Media
· Yahoo Sports
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NEED TO KNOW
- NFL reporter Jen Hale said the Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini photo scandal “makes everything harder” for women working in sports media
- The Fox Sports journalist also highlighted the double standards women journalists face in building credibility and source relationships
- “Vrabel still has a job, and she doesn’t, right?” Hale said, referring to how Russini resigned from The Athletic amid fallout from the scandal while Vrabel faced no disciplinary action
An NFL reporter has weighed in on the Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel photo scandal, claiming that the alleged affair between the football coach and former journalist “makes everything harder” for women working in sports media.
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Fox Sports’ Jen Hale gave her two cents on the consequences of the New England Patriots head coach and former Athletic reporter’s photo scandal during the Friday, Sept. 18 episode of The Craig Carton Show, which opened with host Carton, 57, asking her to weigh in on the potential implications. Hale, 48, obliged, explaining that the controversy “makes everything harder” for other women reporters covering professional football and other sports.
Carton stated that the controversy surrounding the duo, which arose after photos of them cozying up together surfaced online in April, “then turns to every female reporter: ‘Aha. I always knew it. That’s how you get your information.’ ”
“I would assume that you were bothered to your core about what she did — not that she wasn’t a good reporter, because I thought she was, but she crossed the line that you guys can’t cross because it allows the male chauvinist out there to confirm what they thought without knowing you,” the host said of Russini, to which Hale replied, “It opens the floodgates. Absolutely.”
Fox Sports’ Jen Hale working in September 2025Credit: Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty
“It makes everything harder, everything tougher,” the Fox NFL sideline reporter continued of the controversy.
She then pointed out that the fallout from the scandal did not affect both parties’ careers evenly, stating, “Tough situation for her, obviously. Vrabel still has a job, and she doesn’t, right?”
While Russini resigned from The Athletic in April while The New York Times-owned publication investigated her involvement with Vrabel, the Patriots coach did not face any disciplinary action from the NFL, a league official confirmed to PEOPLE at the time.
Hale then harkened back to when she once advised a “young reporter” in a “somewhat similar situation” to Russini’s, explaining to the up-and-coming professional that women working in sports media have to work harder to earn respect.
“I said, ‘Look, you need to understand they are always going to keep their job and you’re not. You’re easily replaceable. They’re not.’ And she thought that was very dismissive and sexist,” Hale explained. “And I said, ‘I don’t agree with it. I’m just telling you the way it works.’ ”
“And to your point, [women in journalism] have to work so hard to earn our reputation, to not walk in a room and have people think, ‘I wonder who she slept with to get here?’ To walk into a room and have people go, ‘She’s a good journalist. That’s why she’s here. I respect her. She does her job with integrity,’ “ the sports broadcaster continued.
The Fox Sports journalist added that she hates “that part” of the job, referring to the double standards she faces as a woman working in the field.
Providing an example to explain how she would be perceived differently than men doing the same job, Hale said, “So we’re doing our game interviews, and [Fox Sports analyst] Mark Schlereth, dear friend of both of ours, hands the coach we were interviewing his card with his number on it and says, ‘You know, I’d love to stay in touch.’ Can you imagine if I, as a female, did that?”
“The rules are different,” she added. “The engagement rules are different. Developing sources is different. There’s no way I could do that with someone that I hadn’t already proven myself to, built time on task with, right? I can’t walk in and just hand my phone number around.”
The controversy surrounding Russini and Vrabel — who are both married to other people — began when photospublished by Page Six on April 7 showed the two holding hands, hugging and lounging poolsideat an Arizona resort.
The pair initially denied that the photos indicated anything more than a professional relationship, but days later, Russini resigned from The Athletic.
Dianna Russini; Mike VrabelCredit: Amy Sussman/Getty; John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty
Since then, more photos of the pair from over the years have surfaced online, including an image of Russini and Vrabel kissing at a bar in 2020 and video of them renting a boat in 2021, when the NFL insider was 7 months pregnant with her first son.
Vrabel briefly stepped away from the Patriots to “seek counseling” weeks after the first images surfaced, and he publicly admitted to having “difficult conversations” with his wife after the photo leaks continued.
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Months later, in September, The Athletic published its report of findings from an internal investigation into Russini and Vrabel’s relationship, ultimately determining that the pair’s close contact “was in clear violation of The Athletic’s standards.”
However, the investigation additionally found that Russini’s relationship with Vrabel did not show bias in his favor or signs that the Patriots coach was giving Russini scoops that other reporters didn’t have access to via their sourcing.
Vrabel, who is now back on the field with the Patriots, declined to comment on the outlet’s findings during a Sept. 3 press conference, stating he’s “moved on” from the scandal.
Russini, meanwhile, has not been working since her April resignation.
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