Rusty Weiss
Former NFL insider Dianna Russini is facing further embarrassment after a police bodycam video contradicted her dramatic account of dodging a traffic ticket by FaceTiming a league head coach.
Back in February, while appearing on the “Stugotz and Company” radio show, Russini casually dropped what sounded like a perfect insider flex. She claimed that during a traffic stop, she asked the cop who his favorite team was, then video-called the head coach of that team on the spot. The coach supposedly picked up, and boom — no ticket.
“So he [the officer] names the team [that he is a fan of] and I go, ‘Oh, I love that team. Do you want to talk to the coach? You should talk to the coach,’” Russini claimed. “I’m texting and driving. I shouldn’t be doing that I know that … I [called] a coach to get out of a ticket. Like what a nasty play, but it worked.”
Turns out, that’s not quite how it went down.
What the Bodycam Footage Actually Shows
The bodycam footage from the January stop in Ridgewood, New Jersey, tells a much more mundane story. Russini was pulled over for using her phone while driving. Over the seven-minute clip, she never once makes a FaceTime call. Instead, she immediately starts explaining that she’s an NFL reporter who was just tweeting about Sean McDermott getting fired by the Bills.
She name-drops former Giants coach Brian Daboll, saying he “wants the job” in Buffalo, and chats up the officer about football.
When the cop reveals he’s a Vikings fan, Russini pivots and shows him text messages from Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell. No live call, just some name-dropping. The officer, after checking her record, ultimately lets her off with a verbal warning.
“I’m gonna cut you a break on the cellphone. I understand your job requires you to be on the phone a lot,” he says. “Just try to wait ‘til you get home, OK?”
Footage is out of Dianna Russini texting Vikings’ HC Kevin O’Connell when she discovered the cop pulling her over was a Vikings fan.
— Eagles Fan Central (@PhilaFanCentral) June 30, 2026
She also said JJ McCarthy “sucks” and the cop agreed💀 pic.twitter.com/u41vViVBM0
Russini’s Growing Credibility Questions
Russini, who resigned from her high-profile role at The Athletic in April amid scrutiny over personal photos with married Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, has stayed relatively quiet since the New York Times revisited the controversy last week. The resurfaced ticket story has only added fuel to the fire around questions of access, ethics, and credibility in NFL reporting circles.
No one is disputing she avoided the ticket — just how she did it. If she’s willing to embellish such a story in this instance, what else is she willing to fabricate?
