Nearly seven months after stepping away from The Athletic when some controversial pictures of her along with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel went viral, Dianna Russini has announced her return to the NFL landscape. However, the way she announced her return rubbed Crissy Froyd the wrong way. 

“A hero and inspiration for women in sports? Gross thing to say when you’re the opposite. Lie to yourself and everyone else harder @DMRussini,” Froyd wrote on X after she came across NY Post Opinion’s X post where Russini called herself a ‘hero for women’. “You disgust me.”

It was Russini’s pre-launch interview with PEOPLE that sparked Froyd’s reaction. That’s where she announced her official return with the launch of a new show with BetUS TV, The Russini Report. But she ended the conversation expressing her desire to become a role model for other women. 

“I really hope that I can be someone other women see: you can pick yourself up, get back in there and not be afraid,” Russini said while talking to PEOPLE. “Because if you just do the work — and I hope to continue working at a high level — that’s all that’s going to matter. And I hope that quiets the noise.” 

Russini took no responsibility. She didn’t even talk about the photographs showing her and Vrabel embracing and holding hands at a hotel in Arizona despite both being married to other people. Of course, Russini denied all accusations before resigning from The Athletic. Mike Vrabel had also done the same, calling the narrative “laughable” at one instance.

After a lengthy investigation, The Athletic declared that Dianna Russini’s relationship, romantic or not, was in “clear violation” of the publication’s standards, according to Mike Semel, editorial director for standards and editorial quality.

Speaking out about Russini’s resignation is what previously cost Froyd her job with USA Today.

Crissy Froyd landed herself in hot water after addressing the Dianna Russini controversy

Froyd was actually fired from USA Today for making rather controversial remarks on the whole controversy.

“I’m sure you were told to submit this or that you’d get fired instead,” Froyd posted on social media, referring to Russini’s resignation from The Athletic. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. We know who you really are and what you’ve been up to for years. It does so much detriment to women in sports who have done things the right way.”

USA Today didn’t want any trouble. The network fired Froyd, claiming that her statements did not reflect USA Today’s “commitment to professionalism” or were true to its “principles of ethical conduct.” After her exit from USA Today, Froyd started contributing to FanSided and Heavy Sports. 

Yet, Froyd seemed to have no regrets about calling Russini out. 

“I regret zero of what I said and stand beside it,” Froyd wrote on social media and defended her statements. “If you want to talk, my messages are open. My email is operative, too. I feel I’ve been very transparent and did nothing wrong.” 

Nevertheless, Russini seems all in for her new venture.

Dianna Russini details the nature of her return

Russini admitted that the last six months were pretty bad for her. Thankfully, her husband, Kevin Goldschmidt, supported her through the scandal and helped her prepare for the return to sports media. She revealed to PEOPLE that The Russini Report will be an hour-long show that will debut on X and BetUS TV’s website on November 11.

“It’s really going to be a show about everything I know that’s going on in the NFL, along with a lot of my opinions,” Russini told the publication.

Furthermore, Russini gave credit to the league for checking in on her almost every day. They ensured that she was doing okay even when she wasn’t connected to football. And that became motivation for her return.

“I felt like players were texting and calling me to say, ‘Get back to work, it’s time,’ ” she said. “I think it’s pretty poetic that here I was all these years telling the story about these players going through adversity, and then they became sort of the people that I was learning from during this.”