Body Cam Footage Contradicts Dianna Russini’s Claim She FaceTimed Vikings Head Coach During Traffic Stop

Dianna Russini is making headlines once again.

A video shared Monday, June 29 on X by The Center Square, shows the former NFL reporter for The Athletic getting pulled over by a police officer back in January for using her phone while driving in New Jersey. While it seemed like a normal traffic stop at first, it was Russini’s interaction with the police officer, which was caught on body cam, that has the internet talking.

In the clip, the officer is seen walking up to Russini’s car, where he asks for her license and registration. Russini introduces herself as an NFL journalist who just broke a story about Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott getting fired. The reporter tells the officer she was on her phone while driving because she was sending a tweet about it.

While handing her documentation to the officer, Russini then asks the cop if he’s a Giants or Jets fan, to which he responds he’s actually a Vikings fan. It’s then she shows him a text exchange between her and Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, which ended up being enough to get Russini out of the traffic ticket.

The body-worn camera footage appears to contradict comments Russini made in February during an appearance on the Stugotz and Company radio show, where she claimed she FaceTimed O’Connell to help her get out of the ticket.

The New York Times repeated the false claim in their exposé about her just last week, which detailed her alleged affair with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.

Photos of Russini and Vrabel first emerged in April, and saw the pair hugging and holding hands at a resort in Sedona, Arizona. Another set of photos, published by Page Six, captured the duo — both of whom are married to other people — kissing at a New York City bar in 2020. TMZ also shared photos of the two in 2021, where they were spotted on a boating trip, while Russini was pregnant with her and husband Kevin Goldschmidt‘s first son.

Russini has denied having a relationship with Vrabel, but resigned from her job at The Athletic amid the scandal — which remerged with the Times‘ expose last week — in which Russini detailed the “significant impact” the alleged affair had on her life “both professionally and personally” in leaked texts between the former NFL insider and a NYT reporter

Vrabel also denied any impropriety.

“These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” he said in a statement to the New York Post back in April. The longtime football coach has not faced any penalty from the NFL or the Patriots, but announced that same month that he was “committed to seeking counseling,” per ESPN.