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Body camera footage from a January traffic stop in Ridgewood, New Jersey, has contradicted former NFL reporter Dianna Russini’s earlier public account of how she avoided a citation for using a cell phone while driving.
At the time of the stop on Godwin Avenue, Russini was still a senior NFL reporter for The Athletic. She was pulled over around 9:40 a.m. after an officer observed her texting.
In the seven-minute video, she identified herself as an NFL insider who had just broken the news of Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott’s firing. She then name-dropped former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who had been fired by the Giants in November 2025 amid a poor start to the season and was viewed as a candidate for the Bills vacancy.
Russini told the officer she had been communicating with Daboll because “he wants the job.” When the officer said he was a Minnesota Vikings fan, she showed him text messages from Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell.
No FaceTime call took place during the interaction.
Ridgewood Police Chief Forest Ross Lyons confirmed the officer exercised discretion and issued only a verbal warning. Russini later bragged about the incident on a podcast, claiming she had FaceTimed a head coach who vouched for her. The story resurfaced in a New York Times report on Russini, who resigned from The Athletic in April 2026 following the publication of photos involving New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
Daboll ultimately joined the Tennessee Titans as offensive coordinator.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Dianna Russini named-dropped ex-Giants coach Brian Daboll during traffic stop
Continue reading...
At the time of the stop on Godwin Avenue, Russini was still a senior NFL reporter for The Athletic. She was pulled over around 9:40 a.m. after an officer observed her texting.
In the seven-minute video, she identified herself as an NFL insider who had just broken the news of Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott’s firing. She then name-dropped former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who had been fired by the Giants in November 2025 amid a poor start to the season and was viewed as a candidate for the Bills vacancy.
Russini told the officer she had been communicating with Daboll because “he wants the job.” When the officer said he was a Minnesota Vikings fan, she showed him text messages from Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell.
No FaceTime call took place during the interaction.
Ridgewood Police Chief Forest Ross Lyons confirmed the officer exercised discretion and issued only a verbal warning. Russini later bragged about the incident on a podcast, claiming she had FaceTimed a head coach who vouched for her. The story resurfaced in a New York Times report on Russini, who resigned from The Athletic in April 2026 following the publication of photos involving New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
Daboll ultimately joined the Tennessee Titans as offensive coordinator.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Dianna Russini named-dropped ex-Giants coach Brian Daboll during traffic stop
Continue reading...
