Free agent kicker Josh Lambo has filed a lawsuit against the Jaguars, as Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com writes. The suit alleges that former head coach Urban Meyer created a hostile work environment and that the organization did nothing to rectify the situation.
Lambo missed a kick in each of Jacksonville’s first two preseason games in 2021, and during a practice before the final preseason game, Lambo alleges that Meyer kicked him in the leg and said, “Hey dips—, make your f—ing kicks!” When Lambo told Meyer, “Don’t you ever f—ing kick me again!” Meyer replied by saying, “I’m the head ball coach. I’ll kick you whenever the f— I want.” The suit further avers that Lambo notified his agent, Richard Irvin, of the interaction and that Irvin made the team’s counsel aware of the matter the following day.
These allegations became public in December, and at the time, the Jaguars released a statement saying that the team immediately responded to Irvin’s query and that, “[c]ounsel offered to speak with Josh, or to assist Josh in speaking with coaching or any other football personnel, if he was comfortable with her sharing the information. Any suggestion otherwise is blatantly false.”
The day after the alleged incident, Lambo claims that Meyer approached him and said, “if you ever speak to me like that again, you’ll be out of here. You’re the first player I’ve ever let speak to me that way in my career, and if you do it again, you’re gone.”
Though Lambo remained on the roster and operated as the Jaguars’ kicker through the first several games of the 2021 season, he missed all three of his field goal attempts and two of his seven PATs. He was released in October before catching on with the Steelers’ taxi squad. Pittsburgh dropped him a week later.
In 2019, Lambo led the NFL with a 97.1% field goal conversion rate. Then, in 2020, he lost the bulk of the year to injury, but went 5-of-5 on his FG tries while making 8-of-10 extra point attempts. His suit alleges that Meyer’s physical and verbal abuse impacted his ability to maintain his previous levels of performance, and he is seeking backpay and other damages.
Prior to the 2019 campaign, Lambo signed a four-year extension that was scheduled to run through the 2022 season. He was set to earn $4MM in 2022, but as a vested veteran, he did collect the full $3.5MM salary he was owed in 2021, and he took home $14K while on the Steelers’ p-squad.
Meyer, who was fired in December before completing one season as Jaguars’ HC, flatly denied Lambo’s allegations.
Make your FCKING kicks you’re a KICKER should be absolutely ashamed
You should be ashamed of making a comment like that you keyboard warrior. Have some respect and grow up. Josh Lambo was in the NFL. Where are you working in comparison to that?
Ashamed why. He typed facts. That he’s a kicker in the NFL. That’s his position. He should make his kicks in order to keep his job. What’s the problem?
And head coaches aren’t supposed to kick players. Sue them for every penny they have.
That’s the problem with society today. Urban Meyer needed to get his ass kicked on the spot, not get sued like half a year later.
Violence is not the answer. Sueing them into oblivion until they regret the miserable day upon which they were born is. Have a blessed day.
If your employer demanded 100% perfection from you at all times, you’d hate it too. Even if you get paid to do something for a living, it doesn’t mean you won’t screw up.
My employer and job demands that I am 100% perfect at all times, because one little mistake I make could kill somebody.
There are some careers where that’s true. But missing a kick isn’t going to kill anyone.
That’s not your point. You said I would hate it if my employer demanded 100% perfection from me at all times. Not only do I not hate it, but I expect them to expect that from me. So you’re wrong.
That’s fine, but my point is that comparing your career (which I’d imagine is something healthcare-related?), to someone getting paid to kick a ball through two yellow poles is off base.
Thank you for whatever it is that you do for a living, but it’s an insult to your own career to compare the two. That being said, Urban Meyer shouldn’t have reacted the way that he did.
It is an insult to compare somebody who kicks a ball around for millions of dollars to what I do, I agree. But, that is a straw man.
The point was that I would HATE if my employer demanded 100% perfection from me at my job. I said that isn’t the case. So, why don’t you deal with your actual point instead of trying to conflate the issue with something else.
Yeah but if you boss kicked you when failed you would sue too. So there’s that.
Way to straw man. That wasn’t the question, now was it?
How about you try to keep up and deal with the question asked and the answer given instead of trying to deflect and start a different conversation with a different point?
Are you serious? That is such stupid logic. So, every player that commits a penalty, misses a block, or assignment, drops a ball, throws an interception, etc. should be treated that way? There would be no NFL or sports for that matter. He should be ashamed of that comment and the way he said it and you should too. Please don’t ever coach youth sports or even go.
They are supposed to be the best in the world at what they do and they in turn are multi-millionaires due to that fact. Yeah, they should be held to that high of a standard.
YOUTH sports are NOT PROFESSIONAL sports. My God, what kind of silly head are you?
Dude, this is such a lame take.
Guy literally kicks a dang ball around for a living and makes millions.
Every day I hold hundreds of peoples health in my hands. One mistake from me and they might get seriously hurt or wind up dead.
Nice argument from authority. Make your kicks, you’re a kicker, if you don’t it’s gonna get real fking hostile up in here
Nice straw man. Nobody said it was appropriate for anyone to abuse another person. The argument is, you should make your kicks if you are paid multiple millions of dollars to do that job professionally.
What a dumb comment
You’re right, you can do much better.
According to everything I’ve read on this both here and previously, Lambo told his agent, who notified the Jags. But when the Jags asked Lambo to talk to them about it he balked initially, before talking to them eventually (not sure of the timeline here). So unless the team waited an inordinate amount of time to reach out to Lambo, I truly wonder if he can prove negligence. We all know that Meyer was a clown, but the team still had to follow due process in investigating this and any other claims against Meyer. And they did fire him not too long afterwards.
Anyone can sue anyone. Not sure he’d be successful here, but the Jags front office didn’t do anything wrong other than perhaps not investigating the situation that occurred fast enough. Ultimately, Meyer proved himself to be a complete jerk, but being a jerk isn’t a crime. Lambo should’ve pressed charges for assault if he was serious.
Yeah. Awesome.
“Hey, I was abused by the coach.”
“Oh, okay, come on in and talk to all of us and the coach about it.”
Good process.
I get Meyer is a joke. And he shouldn’t be kicking anyone. But an adult pro football player who was kicked probably in like the shin, is now suing because of that? And because Meyer was mean to him? What has this country come to? This is such an absolute disgrace all the way around.
DMiles so if your boss kicked you and cussed you out you’d be cool with that? Boot licker.
To be fair, lambo is a guy making a living kicking something and he is complaining about being kicked. Much different than someone working in marketing getting kicked by their boss for a really poor powerpoint presentation. Doesn’t make it right, but you are comparing apples to oranges here.
Sportznut that makes no sense. So if a guy digs ditches for a living his boss can hit him with a shovel? A baseball player can be hit with a bat because he hits for a living? What are you on about? Because he makes a living kicking he can be kicked? Do you hear yourself?
Cussed me out? I’m fine with that. Was a commercial roofer for a time. Happened daily. I have thick skin. If someone kicked me in the shin? I’d probably be so confused an adult kicked someone I’d laugh.
Edit – But to sue? No. Absolutely not.
Maybe go look in a mirror to see what this country is coming to.
I believe Lambo. Meyer is easy to not believe. Packets should sign Lambo….
“Packers”
Thank you for your input
It circles around to Hue Jackson. Hue couldn’t provide proof and his accusations were dismissed. Does Josh have proof, or it his word vs Meyer?
Closely after this took place I recall teammates stepped forward to corroborate that they witnessed Meyer’s kicking of Lambo. Was this event not cited as at least part of the rationale behind the firing of Meyer?
I hope so. If proven Meyer was that awful, then he should be blackballed from football, coaching commentating et al., all together.
Good Ole Finger Guns still screwing over the Jaguars.
Meyer sucks and hasn’t been sued nearly enough yet.
I am certainly not a Urban Myers fan, but this is utterly ridiculous. I agree with the normal, common sense of the people above. For God’s sake he is an NFL football player. If I can sue every boss I had that hurt my feelings by a one or two sentence statement, it would take the rest of my life to settle all the lawsuits. I also feel fully confident that if I would have reacted in the same manner as Lambo, I would most likely have been fired faster than s*it. I am not saying Urban handled the situation correctly, but come on, this is ludicrous. What has this country honestly come too.
While i agree with your sentiment that you shouldnt let words really hit you hard. The issue i think more people have is he physically touched him. It would be the equivalent of an office worker getting smacked on the back of the head in the office.Im sure HR and lawyers would have a field day on that one.
How many fights, players pushing one another, etc do you honestly think happen in NFL locker rooms every year? How about on the field, where players do more than kick someone? How bad could he have kicked him? He didn’t miss one game due to an injury suffered from it. Again, I am not saying Urban handled the situation correctly, but come on. I’m sorry, but I just don’t think this compares to someone’s boss in their office just coming up and hitting them.
getting hit on the football field is part of the job. getting hit off of it is not.
especially by a non-player
This case was filed under whistleblower laws but Florida’s “right to work” statute could be considered as well.
Coincidentally, the Tampa Bay Times was the first to report on Lambo’s lawsuit. ESPN stole the story as it usually does.
The Jags should sue the kicker for failing to perform a duty the player was brought in for? I’m thinking breach of contract? It’s all funny and ridiculous. Hopefully the NFL will have a support group to help rebuild players fractured mental state and he will be able to be a productive member of society moving forward.
Jacksonville has a jaguar for a mascot so I suppose a good lawyer could successfully argue that that qualifies as a “hostile” work environment.
Based on my own participation in organized football it would seem like the whole process of coaching football players could be deemed a hostile work environment. Do you sue the coal mine company because coal mines are hot and dusty?
♫ I was born one morning when the sun didn’t shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said “Well bless my soul”
You load sixteen tons what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
St. Peter don’t you call me cuz I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store ♫
If they start kicking the miners…yes.