Former Jacksonville Football player, John Lambo, is suing the franchise and alleging that former coach Urban Meyer put him through “a pattern of retaliatory harassment and a hostile work environment.” According to court documents, Lambo is seeking $3.5 million, his entire salary for 2021, and damages for reputational harm and emotional distress. He says the environment that Meyer created and the franchise affected his performance.
After missing three field goals and two extra points in Jacksonsives first three games, the veteran kicker was cut following week 6. On Tuesday, the lawsuit was filed in the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court in Duval County, Florida.
In the lawsuit, former coach Meyer kicked Lambo while he was stretching during practice in August. The lawsuit states, “Mr. Lambo was in a lunge position when Mr. Meyer approached him, kicked him in the leg, and used profanity to insult Mr. Lambo and warned him to make his kicks,” the lawsuit states. “Specifically, Mr. Meyer screamed at Mr. Lambo, ‘Hey dips–t, make your f–king kicks!” When Lambo opposed Meyers’s behaviors, stating, “Don’t you ever f–king kick me again,” Meyers answered, “I’m the head ball coach, I’ll kick you whenever the f–k I want,” according to the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, although Lambo verbally reported coach Meyer’s behaviors to his agent, the team did not institute an investigation nor inform the National Football League Association (NFL) or the NFL Players Association of the said allegations. That being said, Lambo presented his claims in an article by the Tampa Bay Times in December of 2021. Later that month, coach Meyer denied Lambo’s account of what happened. However, Meyer was fired from the Jaguars shortly after the claims by Lambo were made public.
In his statement to Tampa Bay Times, Lambo told the newspaper that he reported the occurrence to his agent Richard Irwin who then reached out to the legal counsel of the Jaguars the following day. Jacksonville’s legal counsel contacted Lambo and offered a meeting to discuss the occurrence. However, Lambo has said that the meeting has yet to happen.
