Albert Breer: ‘Of course’ Dianna Russini photos raise questions about past Mike Vrabel reporting

The photos released this week by Page Six, showing Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel embracing at a resort in Arizona, have intensified scrutiny not just of Russini’s professional career but of the nature of “insider” reporting overall.

And the latest insider to weigh in on these issues directly is Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, who appeared on Toucher & Hardy in Boston on Friday, where he acknowledged that “of course” the situation makes it fair game to question Russini’s past reporting on Vrabel and his teams.

However, Breer cautioned against painting with too broad a brush regarding women who break sports news in general.

“Of course it raises questions,” Breer said. “(But) somebody very easily could go and take a picture of me with a coach, with a general manager, whoever it is, in a million different circumstances over the course of the last 20 years. Nobody’s going to make any sort of assumption about me the way they will about a woman sitting in a bar with the same coach.”

Russini, Vrabel, and The Athletic denied any impropriety at the resort.

When the hosts pushed back, forcing Breer to address the specifics of Vrabel meeting Russini two hours outside town before the league meetings in Phoenix, Breer agreed it would cross a line if he did it as well.

But he also said that “lines get blurred” in the transactional business of NFL insiderdom, and that women already get treated unfairly for using some of the same tactics as men.

“There’s no question, that would be a story,” Breer said. “The lines get blurred in these sorts of situations sometimes, and again, it’s hard because I think a lot of times, my female colleagues get questioned in ways when they’re seen, with these guys, out, in ways that I do not get questioned. And I think a lot of that is totally unfair. And if this is what it looks like, then this is really bad for all the women who are doing it on the level.”

Breer also disputed the idea that Russini’s reporting on New England’s pursuit of wide receiver A.J. Brown was tinged by her proximity to Vrabel, telling Toucher & Hardy that Russini’s reporting “has largely meshed” with his own understanding of the situation. Many Philadelphia Eagles fans have theorized that Russini was biased on the story since the photos dropped.

And Breer said he believes a private investigator or a hired eye is responsible for the photos Page Six published, a theory supported by a report from Front Office Sports showing the photos were shopped to TMZ and others.

But in the big picture, Breer is most concerned about the effect Russini’s alleged impropriety could have on other women in the industry.

“Dianna’s done such a good job covering the league, but if that line was crossed, well then she’s screwing over a lot of other women,” he said. “It’s going to make people make assumptions about a lot of other women that don’t deserve to have those assumptions made about them.”