Rex Ryan appeared on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” ahead of Week 10 of the NFL season, just days after Nashville police arrested him on six misdemeanor charges tied to an alleged hit-and-run that injured two pedestrians.
Ryan took his usual seat on the panel, discussing football as he always does, but said nothing on air about the arrest or the incident that led to it.
ESPN has not explained publicly why it chose to put Ryan back on television so soon after the charges were filed. A network source told OutKick the decision was made “based on a number of factors, which certainly includes information we have been able to gather and the conversations we have had since we became aware of the incident. We aren’t making it blindly.”
The source added that the network could reverse course: “With it being an active situation, there is always a chance new information is available that would cause us to reconsider our decision.”
What Happened on Broadway
According to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, Ryan struck Michael Holland and his wife just before midnight on Nov. 5 as the couple crossed Broadway, one of Nashville’s busiest downtown corridors. Police said the pedestrians had a walk signal when Ryan, turning from 4th Avenue, ran over their feet and made contact with one of their legs. Both suffered minor injuries.
Holland told the California Post that Ryan nearly killed him and his wife. “If we had been six inches further out, I’d be in a hospital right now and so would my wife,” Holland said.
“He decided he wanted to turn and didn’t care, and just ran over both of my feet, my wife’s foot and got her leg too,” Holland said.
Holland said Ryan did not stop immediately, but that he and his wife caught up to Ryan’s vehicle a short time later at a stoplight, where the two sides argued before Ryan got back in his truck and drove off. Holland did not explain how he managed to catch up to the vehicle after allegedly having both feet run over.
The Charges
Ryan, 63, surrendered to authorities on Wednesday, a day after the alleged incident, and was arrested on six outstanding misdemeanor charges: two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, two counts of failure to give information and/or render aid, and two counts of failure to obey a traffic control signal.
Despite the arrest, ESPN moved forward with Ryan’s scheduled appearance, leaving viewers to watch the former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach deliver his usual commentary with no mention of the allegations against him.
