It may not be too far-fetched to say that when New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and former NFL insider Dianna Russini were reportedly photographed together at a resort in Arizona, it blew up the internet. Everyone had different opinions about the situation, but ultimately it led to one question: what exactly was happening behind the scenes?

And just when things seemed to be approaching the quieter side of the story, the NFL world came across another revelation. But it was not from the two personalities involved. Rather, it is from the one who dived too deep into the matter and was fired from her job.

“I lost my job – in part – for attempting to blow the lid off the NFL’s open secret: that some female sports reporters, rumored to include some of the most prominent names in the business, trade s for stories,” wrote Crissy Froyd for the Daily Mail.

“I don’t care what consenting adults do in their private lives,” she added. “I do care, however, if the industry that I have dedicated my working life to since I was 15 years old and continue working within, has been tainted by corruption.

“At the very least, Russini and Vrabel’s relationship creates the perception of a quid pro quo culture that pressures female journalists to trade sexual relationships with powerful male NFL employees in return for access and advancement.

“The Vrabel-Russini scandal also casts suspicion over the journalists and NFL teams that do things that right way, of which there are many. That’s unfair and demoralizing – and that’s why I tweeted about Russini’s resignation from The Athletic, resulting in my termination from USA Today.”

This is a developing story…