Flag on the play.
Crissy Froyd is defending her history of dating a college football player and coach — after calling out journalist Dianna Russini over the viral photos of her and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
“Someone was like, ‘Oh, like you slept with JT Daniels,’ and I’m like, ‘Well, yeah, that’s my former partner,’” the axed USA Today sports reporter exclusively told Page Six of her ex, who was part of the coaching staff at the University of West Georgia, just one day after her firing.
“I don’t like having to respond to some of that stuff, but I finally was just like, if any of you have a claim with evidence that I have done exactly what she’s done, I would love to see it.”
The 26-year-old continued on, arguing that “a reporter having a relationship with the player that does nothing for them professionally to gain, especially a young one,” should be perceived differently.
“[The fact] they don’t get anything from it is totally different from a woman who has the top job in sports,” Froyd added, referring to Russini’s authority within the sports journalism industry. “I don’t really know how I’m being compared to that.”
Froyd — who graduated from Louisiana State University — told Page Six that she and Daniels, also 26, struck up a “private” relationship at the beginning of December 2023 and dated until September 2025.
“He and I met through football, but there was never even a text message conversation at all about football outside of an interview request one time because his name was on a contact sheet,” she said of her relationship with Daniels, who played college football for the USC Trojans, Georgia Bulldogs, West Virginia Mountaineers and Rice University Owls.
“For one, JT was in college football. If you want to be hypocritical, I would press you to go find an article and find a date and documentation that I slept with that person for a transactional thing; that I slept with that person to gain information,” she added in response to the backlash she’s received since speaking out against Russini.
“Things are being said of me that are not true and lack context.”
Froyd further defended her relationship with Daniels via a post shared to X, which read, “JT Daniels and I’s relationship didn’t start until after he was retired from football. Try again.”
Despite being laid off from USA Today for her social media behavior, Froyd told Page Six that she wants to remain in sports journalism and has “plenty of connections” in the industry for her next role.
“I do not think that I’m done in sports, and quite frankly, I almost feel elevated by speaking out,” she explained. “I think a lot of people support me.”
Earlier this week, Froyd responded to Page Six’s exclusive photos of Russini, 43, and Vrabel, 50, holding hands and hugging while at a resort in Arizona in March.
Vrabel responded to the photos in a statement Page Six, “These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable. This doesn’t deserve any further response.”
Russini added in her own statement, “The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day. Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.”
Following the release of the images, Russini resigned from her position at the Athletic on Tuesday amid an investigation into the photos.
“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 on X after Russini’s announcement. “We know who you really are and what you’ve been up to for years. It does so much detriment to women in sports who have done things the right way.”
She continued to slam Russini, claiming the journalist and Vrabel are “the worst kept secret in the NFL reporting world for a while.”
Russini did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment regarding Froyd’s tweets at the time.
As Page Six reported Thursday, Froyd was fired from her position at USA Today over the tweets.
“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. I want to thank USA TODAY SMG for the incredible run I had there for about half of my life,” she exclusively told Page Six in a statement. “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 added 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.”
“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 continued in part. “I put myself out there in some respects in a way that was highly uncomfortable to me, but I thought it was worth doing. I am incredibly proud of everything I’ve accomplished and I do walk away with my head held high.”
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