Who is Diana Russini?
Like Vrabel, Russini is a major player in the sport. An All-State honors in basketball, softball, soccer and track and field at New Jersey’s Northern Valley Regional High School, she spent four years on the field at George Mason University. (However, as she stated in a 2017 interview with USA Today High School Sports, her “number one sport in high school” was track and field, not soccer.)
After reporting stints in Westchester, New York City and Seattle, Russini, 43, was drafted to work as a sports anchor for NBC News in West Hartford, Conn., and Washington, D.C.
Starting in 2015, she started wearing suits as an anchor for SportsCenter.
Asked for her best advice for young reporters, she said this in a February chat with SportsCenter’s Madeline Burke. “I think it’s just being relentless. When I think back to when I actually took steps, I was always uncomfortable. I was always uncomfortable and just kept going. I didn’t let anyone stop me.”
Russini continued by making big plays, like when he “cold called” NFL coach Bill Parcells. “If you keep believing in yourself, the people around you will start believing in you too. And that can sometimes take you to the next place you want to be.”
