Josh Lambo, who said Urban Meyer kicked him at practice, files lawsuit against Jaguars
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- Jacksonville JaguarsLiveTodayTomorrowvs--|
- Urban MeyerCollege football coach
- Josh LamboLiveTodayTomorrowvs--|
Josh Lambo has filed a lawsuit against the Jacksonville Jaguars, after he said he was kicked by Urban Meyer last season.
Lambo filed his lawsuit against the team on Tuesday in Duval County, Florida, seeking his salary from the 2021 season and damages for emotional distress, according to the Tampa Bay Times. He said that after Meyer, who was fired by the Jaguars last season, kicked him and verbally abused him, his performance tanked.
Lambo was released in October, just a feww games into his fifth season with Jacksonville.
โMr. Meyerโs hostility had the intended effect on Mr. Lambo, resulting in Mr. Lambo uncharacteristically missing difficult and long kicks from the ranges of 55 yards, 52 yards and 58 yards,โ the lawsuit says, via the Times.
โMultiple skilled players missed assignments, dropped passes or otherwise failed to perform on-field directly resulting in the Jaguarsโ game losses. However, Mr. Lambo, the player who objected to the unlawful activity of Mr. Meyer, was the only player Mr. Meyer and [the Jaguars] cut from the roster.โ
As part of his lawsuit, Lambo said that he was unable to sleep, practice normally and perform at the level heโs capable of.
Lambo said Urban Meyer kicked him, called him โdips**tโ
Lambo said that Meyer kicked him at practice after he missed field goals in a pair of preseason games.
โIโm in a lunge position," Lambo told the Times last year. "Left leg forward, right leg back ... Urban Meyer, while Iโm in that stretch position, comes up to me and says, โHey dips***, make your f***ing kicks.โ And kicks me in the leg.
โIt certainly wasnโt as hard as he couldโve done it, but it certainly wasnโt a love tap. Truthfully, Iโd register it as a five (out of 10). Which in the workplace, I donโt care if itโs football or not, the boss canโt strike an employee."
Lambo then confronted Meyer about the incident.
"And for a second, I couldnโt believe it actually happened," Lambo continued. "Pardon my vulgarity, I said, โDonโt you ever f***ing kick me againโ And his response was: โIโm the head ball coach, Iโll kick you whenever the f*** I want.'"
Lambo said that Meyer threatened to cut him from the team if he spoke to him like that again. Lambo also said that he reported the incident to his agent, who told the team.
Rick Stroud, who broke the news for The Times, said that Meyer's lawyers sent a threatening letter trying to stop the story from coming out. He also said that Meyer's lawyers offered a few players to say that Meyer didn't kick Lambo that hard. Meyer called Lambo's account "completely inaccurate."
"Joshโs characterization of me and this incident is completely inaccurate, and there are eyewitnesses to refute his account,โ Meyer told the Times. โ[General manager] Trent [Baalke] and I met with him on multiple occasions to encourage his performance, and this was never brought up. I was fully supportive of Josh during his time with the team and wish him nothing but the best.โ
The alleged incident was one of several reported during Meyerโs short tenure with the team. Meyer was fired after 13 games.