00:00You know, it's being reported and I always read and always go to front office sports.
00:03We have Michael McCarthy here with us now, the media guru for them.
00:07And I go to your page all the time, Michael, and right out of the gate here, I'm first hearing
00:12now that, you know, these pictures were shopped around.
00:16Give me your fallout on what you think happens now after this story here with Diana Rossini, who's one of
00:23the great writers in the NFL and the head football coach of the Patriots, Mike Rabel.
00:27Yeah, I'll give you the latest status report.
00:31Front office sports was the first to report that the photos were shopped around.
00:36TMZ actually saw them but didn't recognize Diana, so somebody was shopping around pictures of Rabel.
00:43Then later this week, we reported that, in fact, the Athletic had done a U-turn and rather than their
00:49public support of Diana, they were going to do this investigation of her and her reporting.
00:54Well, the Athletic has just confirmed that story.
00:56So, really, we're in a holding pattern right now.
00:59You have the Athletic investigating its star NFL reporter and basically looking at her work to see, you know, what
01:09the situation could be with Rabel.
01:11So, really, it depends on the results of this investigation.
01:15When Diana first commented on it, she said she was there as part of a group.
01:20So, if there's some sort of exonerating circumstances, then I think she'll be back at the job.
01:27If there aren't, then, you know, she might have a problem.
01:31So, I have a question for you on this because she's got a lot of influence when it comes to
01:37the National Football League, Michael, and also when it comes to voting for Coach of the Year, and it also
01:43comes up for MVP.
01:44There was a five-point difference when it came to the MVP voting between Matthew Stafford and Drake May, and
01:52also Coach of the Year, who she voted for, Mike Rabel.
01:54So, again, if you've got that kind of influence and you're talking to your friends, again, is that the kind
02:01of stuff they're possibly investigating?
02:03Because you also know that narratives can be put out by a top-flight reporter like a Diana Rossini.
02:09We're not talking about some Hammond-Ager guy that's on the Internet with a blog.
02:13We're talking about somebody who the NFL truly respects here.
02:17What do you expect, and where area do you think this investigation goes?
02:21Right.
02:21I mean, I think they're going to look at everything.
02:23Diana's a great reporter and a great person.
02:26Anybody who knows her knows she's got a great personality.
02:29She's funny.
02:30She's smart.
02:32She's great at her job.
02:33So, she has a lot of supporters in the business.
02:35But you're right.
02:37Everybody likes to tear people down, and the more successful you are, the more enemies you might have.
02:43I can't imagine the amount of enemies the Patriot organization has for beating the hell out of everybody over the
02:50years and winning all those Super Bowls.
02:51So, I imagine Mike Rabel has enemies professionally who are, you know, resentful and jealous of him.
03:00And I'm sure Diana being at the top of her profession has enemies also.
03:04So, you know, I give her the benefit of doubt.
03:06I give Rabel the benefit of doubt until we see some conclusive proof.
03:11As risque as those photos were, they were not definitive.
03:16You know, I don't know if you saw anything in there, Dan, that said, wow, this conclusively proves these two
03:21are having an affair.
03:22Because I didn't.
03:23And, you know, I think they're going to let the facts, you know, take them to the conclusion.
03:30But here's the problem.
03:32If the Athletic feels that they didn't get the full story in the beginning, when they came out, Dan, with
03:38such a, you know, a strong defense of Diana, if they feel they were lied to, that could be a
03:44problem, too.
03:44You know, because, as they always say, you know, the cover-up is worse than the crime.
03:48Well, you know, if the parties involved here weren't telling the truth to their respective employers, you know, that could
03:55come back to all of them.
03:57So, the New York Times, obviously, the Athletic is owned by the New York Times here.
04:03And we now see them kind of walking back a little bit here, Mike.
04:06I mean, do you believe that this could end up coming back?
04:10Because first they say we're 1,000% behind her.
04:13Now it's being reported.
04:14And correct me if I'm wrong.
04:16They've taken her off her assignment while the investigation is going on.
04:20Do you see them walking back a little bit and maybe bending to the public opinion now that what these
04:26photos look like?
04:27Like you said, the view of it looks bad.
04:30But, hey, tell me what you know, not tell me what you're seeing.
04:33You know what I mean?
04:34Right, Dan.
04:35I mean, I don't think it's a walk back.
04:37I think it's a run back.
04:38I mean, they did a complete U-turn from where they were on Tuesday night.
04:42You know, not only, you know, have they said, you know, they're investigating this, but essentially Diana is not going
04:47to be doing any more reporting.
04:49You know, describe that as you will.
04:52A quasi-suspension, a benching.
04:55You know, she's not going to be writing or reporting for the Times while this investigation is going on.
05:01So, you know, my heart goes out to everybody involved, particularly the families, you know, who have to go through
05:08this stuff.
05:09And, you know, like we said, you and I both agree that the photos are not conclusive.
05:14This might turn out to be completely innocent and just a misunderstanding.
05:20But, you know, the Times now is one of the great newspapers of the world.
05:25You know, obviously, the Athletic is a great organization.
05:28Now that they're investigating it, you know, they'll get to the bottom of it, I'm sure.
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