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An internal and intensive five-month review of former NFL reporter Dianna Russini’s coverage during her time at The Athletic determined that her failure to disclose her relationship with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel violated the sports website’s company standards. The 2,800-word review, which was conducted by Mike Semel, an editorial director for standards and quality at The Athletic, was posted Thursday morning. Russini, 43, resigned from The Athletic in April after the New York Post posted photos of her with Vrabel at a resort in Sedona, Ariz., which turned into a social-media uproar. The photos showed Russini and Vrabel, both married to other people, holding hands, hugging, and sitting next to each other in a pool. The report offered no conclusions about the scope of their relationship, but Semel wrote that Russini was “noncompliant” with and in “clear violation” of The Athletic’s reporting standards. “Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed,” the report said, noting that “the totality of the public photographs are enough to conclude a violation of company policy.” Russini resigned from The Athletic on April 14, a week after the first photos ran in the Post. She said at the time she was resigning “not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.” The report also said that Russini, after being confronted with the photos by the Post, waited two days before telling her editors about the situation. “She then told a story to explain the photos that did not align with facts, raising issues of trust,” the report noted. The probe, which was to “assess whether her work for The Athletic was accurate and unbiased and that her access to Vrabel did not unduly affect The Athletic’s journalism,” included a review conducted by Semel of 903 stories and 77 videos on The Athletic that featured Russini’s byline or some acknowledgment of her reporting. He also reviewed 204 episodes of the Russini-hosted “Scoop City” podcast and approximately 25 interviews she did for other outlets. The review also included a study of approximately 75 stories to “evaluate how The Athletic’s coverage of certain events involving Vrabel or his teams compared to coverage in other publications.” Fourteen members of The Athletic staff that worked closely with Russini were also interviewed. The vast majority of Russini’s work for the company had nothing to do with Vrabel or his team, according to the review. “Of the 903 pieces she wrote, contributed to, or where her reporting was mentioned,” wrote Semel, “about 46 mentioned Vrabel or his team (about 5 percent). Of those 46 pieces, all but about 15 were simply transactional (e.g., Keion White traded; Josh McDaniels hired as offensive coordinator; Jabrill Peppers cut) or associated with a particular game (mostly the Super Bowl or AFC Championship). All of those were co-bylined with other reporters. None of those scooped other publications, as they were reports coming from the team or stories that several publications reported simultaneously.” The approximately 15 stories that were not game-related or related to transactions were mostly mentions in Russini’s “What I’m Hearing” columns regarding coaching candidates. Her reporting, per the review, jibed with how Vrabel was covered in other publications. The review drew a similar conclusion regarding the 204 podcast episodes. Three of Russini’s 77 videos for The Athletic were specific to Vrabel. All three were lighthearted. Two were done at joint practices in August 2025 between the Patriots and Vikings — they were titled “50 seconds of questions for Vrabel’s 50th birthday,” and “What annoys Mike Vrabel?” The third was from a training camp fight that same month between the Patriots and Commanders. Vrabel broke up a fight, and the review said he was portrayed as “somewhat heroic.” “Given the New York Post photographs,” Semel wrote, “I recommend an Editor’s Note be appended to those videos.” The review acknowledged that Russini was a very well-sourced reporter whose work “was seldom reliant on Vrabel as a source or subject.” “[Her] sources included owners, general managers, coaches, agents, and players,” the review stated. “Athletic staffers said Russini knew dozens of coaches, ex-coaches, coordinators, front office executives, and owners, and was generous sharing those sources. They did not suspect she was closer with Vrabel than anyone else. “But, of course, the appearances surrounding her relationship with Vrabel undermines our audience’s confidence in her impartiality,” the review noted. Chad Finn can be reached at chad.finn@globe.com.