Video footage of a traffic stop shows Dianna Russini, a former star N.F.L. reporter for The Athletic, trying to impress a New Jersey police officer by flaunting her proximity to prominent figures in the league.

“What is your team?” Ms. Russini asks the officer, who pulled her over after he observed her using her phone while driving.

“I’m a Vikings fan, unfortunately,” the officer, from the Ridgewood, N.J., force, replies.

Ms. Russini then reaches for her phone and raises an index finger while giving the officer a look. She appears to be searching for something on her phone.

“Let’s see it,” the officer says.

She turns her phone in his direction to show him what appears to be an exchange of text messages. “Can you see the name?” she asks.

“Oh, my God, K.O.C.?” the officer says, repeating a nickname for Kevin O’Connell, the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. Ms. Russini then tells him that, in her opinion, the team’s quarterback “sucks.”

She didn’t get a ticket that day.