Former New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan has been arrested for allegedly running over the feet of two pedestrians.
Ryan, 63, turned himself in to authorities on Wednesday, November 11, after he allegedly ran over the feet of two people with his pickup truck in Nashville, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department tells Us.
The alleged incident happened just after midnight on Thursday, November 5, when he made a right turn and drove over two people attempting to cross the street.
Ryan allegedly kept driving, but the victims managed to chase him down at a red light, where an argument took place, which involved the former coach getting out of his vehicle.
The victims told police that Ryan had left the scene without exchanging information with them, but they managed to take a picture of his license plate.
Once he was identified, Ryan was charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, two counts of failing to give information/render aid and two counts of failing to obey traffic signals.
Ryan’s bond was set at $5,000. It is not clear whether he is still behind bars.
Ryan coached for eight seasons in the NFL, six with the Jets and two with the Buffalo Bills. After being fired by the Bills after the 2016 season, he signed a TV deal with ESPN, where he has been a mainstay of the network’s NFL coverage ever since.
The specific nature of Ryan’s arrest has drawn plenty of ironic reactions from the football community. In 2010, Ryan was forced to respond to a report that he had helped his wife, Michelle, film a series of foot fetish videos that went viral.
“To be honest, and I get it, I know you need to ask and all that stuff,” Ryan told reporters during a conference call at the time. “But it’s a personal matter, and I’m really not going to discuss it, OK?”
When asked whether he had the full support of Jets ownership in the wake of the scandal, Rex said, “I don’t know how to answer.”
“I would think I would have support,” he added. “We’re 10-4. I think we’re playing pretty well.” (Rex and Michelle got married in 1987.)
“I understand I’m going to get asked this question frontways, sideways, backways and all this, but it is a personal matter,” he said at the time of the scandal.
The story became such a talking point that Rex was forced to address it with his players.
“His message this morning was, you know, he said, ‘You guys might know about this internet situation, some of you guys might not know,’” former Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis told reporters. “He said, ‘You’ll find out later on today.’ He said, ‘Right now, I feel embarrassed.’”
