Body Cam Video of Dianna Russini Traffic Stop Contradicts NFL Coach Story

Dianna Russini's story about calling an NFL head coach to get out of a ticket appears to be false, according to body cam footage shared via social media.

The former NFL insider at The Athletic told the story during a February appearance on the Stugotz and Company radio show, where she said she put the officer, a Minnesota VIkings fan, on the phone with Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell.

The footage, however, shared via X by Adam Herbets of The Center Square on Monday, June 29, tells a different story. It shows Russini, 43, trying to talk her way out of the ticket by explaining she had just broken the news that the Buffalo Bills fired their coach, Sean McDermott, ultimately only showing the officer a text conversation with the Vikings head coach.

"I'm an NFL reporter, and I just broke that Sean McDermott got fired from the Bills," she told the officer in the video. "And that I - what I was just sending to send [sic], a tweet. I was gonna pull over, because I have to make calls. I know you don't care, but I just wanted you to know my reason why."

"Obviously, you were on your phone for a while," he replied. "I understand you've got a job."

"You know who I was on the phone with? Brian Daboll," she said, referring to the former New York Giants head coach. "He wants the job."

She then asked the cop whether he is a fan of the Giants or New York Jets.

"I'm actually, I'm not a fan of either," he said.

When he told her he's a Vikings fan, she replied that their "quarterback sucks" and showed him a text exchange she had with O'Connell, 41.

"I'm gonna cut you a break on the cell phone," he told her. "I understand your job requires you to be on the phone a lot. Just try to wait till you get home, OK?"

Compare that to Russini's original account, in which she said she FaceTimed "the head coach."

"Head coach is in his office," she said on Stugotz and Company. "He said, ‘What's up?' I go, ‘I just got pulled over and I just wanted you to meet my friend, Officer Joe.'"

"You should let her go," Russini alleged that O'Connell told the officer. "She's a good citizen."

While the body cam footage isn't the end of the world for Russini, it comes at a time where her every move is scrutinized amid the fallout of the Mike Vrabel scandal. Russini resigned from her job at The Athletic in April after photos emerged of her and the New England Patriots head coach together at a resort in Arizona.

Both initially claimed the photos were innocent, but additional pictures and videos emerged of them together, including a photo of them kissing in a New York City bar in March 2020. Both Vrabel, 50, and Russini are married.

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This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 11:15 AM.