Aaron Rodgers Addresses ESPN Amid Dianna Russini Controversy
Aaron Rodgers directed criticism at ESPN—while on ESPN—condemning the network for its approach to the Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini controversy.
“What is the network doing?” Rodgers, 42, questioned during the Monday, August 3 episode of The Pat McAfee Show. “You have an individual who maybe used to work at ESPN covering our league at the highest level, and there’s a significant scandal that no one can f***ing discuss? What are we doing here?”
Russini, 43, was with ESPN from 2015 to 2023 before moving on to become The Athletic’s senior NFL insider. In April 2026, Page Six published photos of her with New England Patriots head coach at a resort in Arizona. As The Athletic initiated an internal investigation, more images came to light, including one that seemingly captured the two kissing at a New York City bar in 2020.
She resigned just a week after the initial pictures surfaced, while Vrabel, 50, stated that he would seek counseling regarding the controversy.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback remarked that Russini’s position as a media figure could create clear conflicts of interest.
“If it’s affecting certain things, if there are leaks, if there’s tampering, and if that person is also an MVP voter and Coach of the Year voter… remember when I won MVP in 2021 and that bum in Chicago?” Rodgers elaborated. “That’s reality.”
Mike Vrabel, Aaron Rodgers, Dianna Russini Getty Images (3)
“I told these boys I was bringing it today,” he added.
By “that bum in Chicago,” Rodgers referred to Chicago sports writer Hub Arkush, who infamously chose not to vote for Rodgers for the 2021 NFL MVP, calling him the “biggest jerk in the league.”
“There are no guidelines,” Arkush, 73, stated at the time. “We are instructed to select the individual we believe is most valuable to his team. And I don’t think it specifies ‘strictly on the field,’ although I believe he harmed his team on the field by how he acted off of it.”
Rodgers’ remarks on McAfee extended beyond football. He also criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci for his recent controversial appearance at a Senate hearing, during which he repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment while discussing the government’s COVID-19 response.
“Absolute coward,” Rodgers stated regarding Fauci, 85. “Yeah. Are you kidding me? You received a pardon and pled the Fifth over 100 times at the White House?”
He continued, “What are you afraid of, Tony? I thought you were science. I thought you were, ‘I am science,’ and you go up there and you can’t answer a question?”
