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Ex-USA Today NFL reporter alleges ‘wider issue’ in Vrabel-Russini saga: 'at least half a dozen…'
Despite losing her USA Today job over comments about Dianna Russini, Crissy Froyd has renewed her criticism, alleging deeper issues within NFL media culture.
Mike Vrabel’s alleged affair with Dianna Russini continues to generate attention, with the controversy showing no signs of fading. The latest development comes from journalist Crissy Froyd, who has made fresh claims after previously criticizing Russini when the affair allegations first emerged.
Following the disclosure of allegations involving Dianna Russini and New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, Russini posted her resignation letter from The Athletic . Soon after, journalist Crissy Froyd became one of the first figures to attack her on social media.
“We know who you really are and what you’ve been up to for years. It does so much detriment to women in sports who have done things the right way,” she posted, alleging that Russini had been asked to resign or else she would be fired.
Despite losing her role at USA Today over remarks she made about Russini, Froyd has resurfaced with a more sweeping critique, arguing that the controversy highlights what she sees as deeper, long-standing issues within the NFL media and reporting landscape.
Froyd alleges deeper issues within NFL
Froyd re-entered the discussion in a Daily Mail column published after Mike Vrabel’s latest New England Patriots press conference. She wrote that she had expected reporters to directly address the controversy surrounding Vrabel and Russini.
However, according to Froyd, no one raised the issue, leaving what she viewed as the most important question of the day unasked.
Nearly six weeks after losing her job, Froyd claimed she “fired for exposing the NFL’s dirtiest sex secret.” In her column, the former USA Today journalist further claimed that “at least half a dozen female reporters” had privately told her they had been involved in relationships with NFL staff members
“I’ve been told by at least half a dozen female reporters that they have had sex with NFL staff and, in one case, a prominent NFL head coach, while they were covering the team,” she wrote in the Daily Mail.
Froyd claims prior knowledge of Vrabel Russini affair
“It takes a high degree of trust to make such a confession, so I assume that many other similar stories go untold,” she added.
Froyd further alleged that she first became aware of claims linking Vrabel and Russini around 2020, during Vrabel’s tenure as head coach of the Tennessee Titans and Russini’s time covering the NFL as a reporter.
In her column, she wrote that a prominent national sports journalist told her at the time that the two were allegedly involved in a secret relationship.
Also read: Mike Vrabel's behavior after Dianna Russini controversy revealed by Patriots star
The allegations remain unverified, and both Vrabel and Russini have previously denied any wrongdoing after photos of the pair together circulated online.
Since publishing her resignation letter from The Athletic, Russini has largely withdrawn from public view, deactivating or restricting several of her social media accounts and refraining from making any additional public comments on the matter.
