The Athletic Finds Dianna Russini Violated Newsroom Standards with Mike Vrabel Relationship

Dianna Russini was in "clear violation" of The Athletic's newsroom standards because of her relationship with Mike Vrabel ... an internal investigation found.

The Athletic's editorial director, Mike Semel, published the findings Thursday, saying ... "Russini's relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic's standards. Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed."

Semel went through 903 videos, 77 videos, 204 episodes of her "Scoop City" podcast -- he also interviewed her coworkers and listened to her off-platform appearances and interviews -- and says he didn't find "a clear link" that shows Russini used her position to give Vrabel a leg up.

Semel write ... "That said, there are examples of Russini writing glowingly of Vrabel that in hindsight are awkward or even uncomfortable."

A source with direct knowledge of the investigation tells ESPN Semel didn't actually interview Russini over the course of the 5-month probe.

While Semel noted the bulk of Russini's work at The Athletic "had nothing to do with Vrabel" ... their relationship "undermines our audience's confidence in her impartiality."

After poring through all her work, Semel concluded that most of Russini's work did not just revolve around Vrabel and the New England Patriots. However, he suggested adding editor's notes to some content -- including a video where Russini calls Vrabel "somewhat heroic" for breaking up a training camp fight, and a "very insider-y" column that detailed what Vrabel had for dinner the night before a game.