Another week, another scandal involving Rex Ryan and the New York Jets.
In what is becoming routine, the team went into damage control mode again after several foot-fetish videos surfaced online last week allegedly showing Ryan’s wife, Michelle, seductively modeling her feet in a variety of locations.
According to ESPN, Ryan said the matter was between him and his wife and that it was personal.
“I’m going to be ready to play Chicago,” Ryan said. “It’s my job and I’m going to focus on the job at hand.”
But the colorful coach was concerned enough about the fallout to address his team on the matter.
Before the press conference, Ryan went into a team meeting and told players about the situation.
“He said, ‘You guys might know about this Internet situation. Some of you guys might not know.’ He said, ‘You’ll find out later on today,’ ” said star cornerback Darrelle Revis. ” ‘He said, ‘Right now, I feel embarrassed . . . Right now, we need to focus on Chicago.’ “
While the players largely shook it off, this is the latest in a series of controversies for the Jets, which are quickly becoming the trash of the NFL.
Sal Alosi, the team’s strength and conditioning coach, was indefinitely suspended after he tripped Nolan Carroll during a punt return Dec. 12. The NFL is investigating.
Earlier this season, the league also investigated the team after it was reported that female reporter Ines Sainz was harassed at Jets practice.
And the league hasn’t finished its investigation into Brett Favre — then the Jets quarterback — for allegedly sending inappropriate text messages and photos to sideline reporter Jenn Sterger.
Ryan himself came under fire for using profanity repeatedly during HBO’s “Hard Knocks” show on the team in the preseason.
In January, Ryan also was fined $50,000 by the team after he was caught on a cell phone camera flipping his middle finger at a fan during a mixed martial arts competition in Sunrise, Fla. The image of Ryan quickly spread across the Internet and made its way onto the back pages of New York tabloids. He apologized the next day in a statement, calling his actions “stupid and inappropriate.”
And wide receiver Braylon Edwards has been dealing with a drunken-driving charge that could affect another case stemming from an altercation in Ohio.
Now every team has its scandals, but when they come from all levels of an organization on a regular basis, something is wrong. Really wrong.
This team needs new leadership from the bottom up, starting with Ryan.
Yeah, he’s “got balls” and I know some people love his brash, in-your-face style, but he needs to learn a thing or two about discipline and is no role model for his players. The Jets need someone to bring some class back to the organization because, right now, they’re about as trashy as a Jared Allen family reunion.