Charlotte Wilder, Mina Kimes discuss how Dianna Russini scandal opened door for ‘people looking for an excuse’ to target women

The legacy of the Dianna Russini scandal is still taking shape, as we near the first NFL kickoff since her alleged affair with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was revealed and await Russini's personal account.

But one immediate ramification of Russini's lapse in judgment seems to be a chilling effect among some women NFL reporters, who ESPN reported this week have felt hesitant to take public meetings with coaches for fear of how they will be viewed.

The conversation began as a hypothetical way back in April, shortly after Page Six published photos showing Russini and Vrabel together at a resort in Arizona. At the time, USA Today's Nancy Armour suggested in a column that Russini had jeopardized the credibility of all women in sports media with her actions. Dozens of women in the industry disagreed with Armour , calling it unfair that Russini's mistake would undermine anyone else based solely on gender .

This week on The Sports Gossip Show , host Charlotte Wilder and ESPN's Mina Kimes shared their perspective on ESPN's update indicating that women who cover teams are navigating their jobs differently as a result of the scandal.

"I think it reflects sort of a broader thing that happens in any industry, which is when someone who's not in the majority makes any sort of error, it becomes a referendum for their entire class. And I think that's just kind of what's happening here," Kimes said.

"Giving license to male sports fans generally to speak about them a certain way, or to honestly talk about this story in a way that they don't with other stories involving lapses in journalism. It's been interesting to watch on the Russini side of it, this massive conversation on the internet about, 'This is a crime against journalism, and no one's talking about it' … it's kind of hard to take those critiques in good faith when they're clearly not coming from a place of, these aren't people who actually care about journalism.

"They're not applying those standards to things that other insiders do, perhaps."

While Kimes did not name specific other insiders or their breaches, many others around sports media have noted this hypocrisy throughout the Russini scandal. It has been difficult for some to see past the allegations of infidelity and the salacious images published by tabloids to address the underlying questions around insiders and what they do to gain access.

And indeed, far more voices have weighed in on this particular tabloid story and the questions it has raised about journalistic integrity than usual. Wilder argued the scandal has revealed a double standard among insiders .

"It seems to me that to blame one woman for making a mistake and saying that she has screwed it up for everybody else, nobody does that for men," Wilder said. "I understand that it is different; she was in a very high-profile position, but it doesn't sit right, I don't think."

The scandal has also, Wilder added, given bad actors an opening to bash a prominent woman in the industry.

"It gives license to people, perhaps, who are looking for an excuse to not treat women the same way, and then run with it," she said. "And then the women are the ones who bear the brunt of it. So yes, there is a ripple effect. I just wish the correct people were blamed, as well, for it."

Both Wilder and Kimes reported on the NFL earlier in their careers before transitioning into on-air roles.

This is a useful conversation to have about insiders, women who cover sports, and even accountability in the pressure cooker of professional athletics. Hopefully, as the allegations facing Vrabel and Russini fade into memory, we can have that conversation rather than the juicier, more unserious one that has taken up more attention this summer.