Inside the NBA Mocks Vrabel-Russini Scandal in Celtics Gone Fishing Segment

ESPN's Inside the NBA took a jab at the Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini controversy Sunday night during playoff coverage.

The show aired a Gone Fishing segment after the Boston Celtics lost to the Philadelphia 76ers and exited the playoffs. The graphic showed sportscaster Bill Simmons, actors John Krasinski, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and Celtics stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum on a fishing boat.

Vrabel and Russini appeared in the right corner in a Titanic-style scene, with the New England Patriots head coach holding the hips of the NFL reporter.

Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley sat stunned. "Who are the two people at the front?" Smith asked, trying to draw a comment from Barkley. "I don't know them."

Barkley replied, "Stop it, stop it."

"Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on there, Tatum and Brown," Johnson said. "That's all I see on that boat. I don't see anything else."

Fox News Digital contacted ESPN for comment.

The scandal erupted last month after Page Six published photos of Vrabel and Russini getting close at an Arizona resort during the NFL's annual meeting. Additional Page Six photos showed them kissing in 2020.

Russini resigned from The Athletic in a letter last month.

"I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published," the letter stated. "When the Page Six item first appeared, The Athletic supported me unequivocally, expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism. For that I am grateful. In the days that followed, unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts."

"Moreover, this media frenzy is hurtling forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is trying to complete," it continued. "It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept. Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30. I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career."

Vrabel first described the situation as "laughable." As more photos leaked, he stepped away briefly from the Patriots for counseling.

"My previous actions don't meet the standard that I hold myself to," Vrabel said before the NFL Draft. "My priorities are my family and this football team, in that order. And there is a balance there that I am going to create."