Crissy Froyd stood behind her comments about fellow reporter Dianna Russini holding hands with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, after being fired from USA Today.
“I want to say firstly that I do not regret anything that I said and that I stand behind the fact it is all indeed true,” the NFL journalist told Page Six in a statement on Thursday.
“I want to thank USA TODAY SMG for the incredible run I had there for about half of my life. It is deeply, deeply emotional to me that this relationship has come to an end and that my contract has been terminated because of this.”
Froyd emphasized that she “would never say anything [she] didn’t stand behind” because she’s aware of the “potential consequences.”
“Even if a situation seems risky,” she added. “Thank you to everyone who has supported me both before and after I released my statements.”
Additionally, the reporter called out Nancy Armour, a USA Today columnist, saying it was “incredibly interesting” that she published a story about Russini “setting women’s credibility back in sports.”
“But that I am somehow unable to be gone on with after I said what I had to say about it — and not even as an employee, but as an independent contractor on my own social media accounts,” Froyd continued.
“Regardless of what happens to me in the future, I want to say something. Do not be afraid to potentially martyr yourself for the right causes,” she said.
“I put myself out there in some respects in a way that was highly uncomfortable to me, but I thought it was worth doing.”
Earlier this week, Froyd spoke out about Russini, 43, and Vrabel, 50, being spotted holding hands and hugging at a resort in Arizona in March.
Russini and Vrabel — who are both in separate marriages — have insisted they are just friends and were at the resort with other pals when they met up.
However, Russini resigned from her position at the Athletic, a New York Times publication, after being sidelined when photos of her and the NFL coach were released.
“I’m sure you were told to submit this or that you’d get fired instead. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” Froyd wrote via X in response to Russini’s resignation letter.
“We know who you really are and what you’ve been up to for years,” she added. “It does so much detriment to women in sports who have done things the right way.”
Froyd also alleged the reporter got into “fights with other reporters in Chili’s parking lots about hooking up with married NFL coaches.”
“It is almost certainly all true,” she alleged, stating it was “the worst kept secret in the NFL reporting world for a while.”
Page Six reached out to Russini for comment on Froyd’s tweets but did not immediately hear back.
Before being fired, Froyd told us she received an email from her company about her recent social media activity.
“Reaching out about the issues being caused by your X posts surrounding the Russini situation, which has turned into its own news-making cycle which directly ties USA TODAY to your own independent posts off-platform,” the email read.
According to the email, the company referred to Russini’s “conjecture” as unverified, warning Froyd that her comments were being linked to USA Today “in several articles.”
“As you can imagine, this is a serious issue for the company, as we would never publish such things on our platform,” the email continued.
