Aaron Rodgers took aim at ESPN again, and this time he did it with Cam Heyward sitting across from him.
On Heyward’s podcast, Not Just Football with Cam Heyward, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback reopened a feud he has carried for years, blasting the network for what he sees as selective outrage. Rodgers said ESPN stayed quiet about the Dianna Russini and Mike Vrabel scandal while other tabloid-style stories were pushed into the spotlight.
The episode comes after the Dianna Russini scandal broke publicly in April 2026, when Page Six published photos of her with Mike Vrabel. The pictures drew heavy scrutiny because both were married to other people.
What started as personal fallout quickly became a bigger issue around journalism ethics. The Athletic then launched an internal standards review to look into possible conflicts of interest, and Russini resigned from her high-paying role just days later.
Rodgers said the silence from some ESPN figures stood out to him. He asked, “Like, you have literally an individual that maybe used to work at ESPN that covers our league at the highest level, and there’s a major scandal, and it’s just, like, nobody can f--g talk about it?”
He said the criticism was about more than one incident. Rodgers framed it as a response to what he sees as years of double standards from major media outlets. “For me, it’s just about leveling the playing field with a little get-back, based on the hypocrisy that I’ve seen for so many years, especially from some of the big networks.”
Russini, meanwhile, is said to be planning a return to NFL media after staying out of the public eye for months following her exit from The Athletic. Reports indicate she is weighing multiple offers, and sources close to the situation say her comeback won’t be handled quietly. Instead, she intends to address the scandal directly and tell her side of the Arizona resort story.
The Athletic’s final report also found that her reporting remained unbiased and untainted by the relationship.
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