Former NFL Coach Rex Ryan has been accused of a crime that seems so unbelievable that it’s almost poetic.
Ryan turned himself in to police on Wednesday after allegedly fleeing the scene of an altercation in the Honky Tonk Highway area of Nashville.
‘I know football, and I know feet.’
The former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach was reportedly in Nashville last Thursday driving his pickup truck when the incident occurred.
It was just before midnight when Ryan allegedly made a right turn, running over the feet of two people who were crossing the street. Despite making contact with one victim’s leg, he kept driving, the pedestrians claimed, according to Nashville police.
When the vehicle stopped at a red light, the pedestrians apparently waved down the driver, and the 63-year-old Ryan allegedly got out of his truck to argue with the two people before allegedly getting back in his vehicle and driving away. The individuals photographed the license plate before he took off, the police press release said.
What seems like a minor ordeal is exacerbated by a long history of related accusations lobbed at Ryan: that he has a wild foot fetish.
Before Ryan started coaching the Jets, a series of foot-fetish videos surfaced online that appeared to feature his wife with his voice behind the camera. According to HLN at the time, the account the videos were uploaded to stopped posting content “in 2009, ironically around the same time Rex Ryan took the head coaching job with the New York Jets.”
At a Jets press conference, Ryan was asked directly by reporters if he and his wife had made the videos, and he replied that it was “a personal matter.”
“I’m not going to discuss it,” Ryan added.
While the coach never confirmed or denied the reports — despite repeated questioning — he’s had a great sense of humor about the topic in the years since.
In 2021, during a panel discussion on ESPN about QB Aaron Rodgers’ toe injury, Ryan declared to viewers that he was a “toe expert.”
“Listen, I’m a toe expert,” he began as his colleagues laughed. “Let’s just say this: ain’t nothing wrong with Aaron Rodgers.”
Ryan even entered a brand partnership in 2022 with Dr. Scholl’s to promote new products. In a press release, the company said Ryan would “utilize his notorious foot expertise.”
“Two things are for certain: I know football, and I know feet,” Ryan said in the announcement.
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Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Dr. Scholl’s
Nashville police said that Ryan surrendered for booking on six outstanding misdemeanor warrants and was charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, two counts of failure to give information/render aid, and two counts of failure to obey a traffic control signal.
Bond was set at $6,000, but the Associated Press, citing the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, reported Ryan qualified for pretrial release and was set free. He is scheduled to appear in court next month.
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Nfl, Football, Rex ryan, Nashville, Sports
