About this episode

The episode explores the lack of coverage of the Dianna Russini scandal in sports media and discusses the evolution of the medium.

Welcome to Episode 138! We bring on returning guest Mike (Episode #112) to get to the bottom of why there's been almost no coverage of the Dianna Russini scandal by sports media. We go through the evolution of the medium: TV and ESPN's early days, athletes gaining more control over the narrative, the insider economy, and ultimately conclude with a) why the story hasn’t been covered and b) if this will be a reckoning or continued drift. Of course, along the way the Podfather features prominently throughout our conversation. Enjoy!

People in this episode

Host: The r/BillSimmons Podcast

Guest: Mike

Topics covered

• sports media
• Dianna Russini scandal
• evolution of sports media
• TV history
• athlete narratives
• insider economy

Keywords

• Russini scandal
• sports media coverage
• evolution of media
• ESPN history
• athlete control
• insider economy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ESPN

More episodes of The r/BillSimmons Podcast

• #139: Is the Re-Apex Over? Plus, Re-Assessing Who Won the Simmons/Russillo Break-up · May 27, 2026 · 1h 15m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The r/BillSimmons Podcast podcast page.