New York Jets Coach Won’t Discuss Foot Fetish Report About Him, Wife

ESPNNewYork.com

The New York Jets are on the verge of making the playoffs, but the focus once again is off the field as coach Rex Ryan is being asked whether his wife, Michelle, posted foot-fetish videos on the Internet.

In a conference call with Chicago reporters and at his news conference later Wednesday leading up to Sunday’s big game with the Bears, Ryan didn’t deny a Deadspin.com report that shows a number of videos of a woman who looks very much like his wife showing off her feet while a cameraman — who sounds like Ryan — talks to the woman.

To be honest, and I get it, I know you need to ask and all that stuff,” Ryan told reporters when asked if the situation could snowball into a distraction. “But it’s a personal matter and I’m really not going to discuss it, OK?”

Ryan said it was between him and his wife and he would not elaborate beyond that.

At his news conference, he was asked repeatedly about the videos and said many times: “It’s a personal matter.”

Ryan was asked if the incident was taking away from his team’s preparation this week. The Jets just need to beat Chicago to make the playoffs.

“I’ll be ready to coach Chicago, and I am ready,” he said. “It’s my job and I’m focused on the job at hand.”

Does he have the full support of Jets ownership?

“I don’t know how to answer,” Ryan said. “I would think I would have support. We’re 10-4. I think we’re playing pretty well.”

When asked point blank if he and his wife had made the videos, Ryan would not say one way or another.

“I understand I’m going to get asked this question frontways, sideways, backways, and all this, but it is a personal matter,” he repeated.

The coach was asked how his wife is doing.

“My wife’s beautiful,” he said. “We’ve been married for 23 years. She’s awesome.”

A still photograph from one of the video clips was splashed across the front of the New York Daily News and showed a woman with her feet hanging out of an SUV. She is approached by someone who is not on camera and he tells her that she has “really beautiful feet.”

The other videos show the woman sitting on a couch, having a drink, reading a book and sitting on a porch and rubbing her feet.

Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said he supported Ryan in a statement made later Wednesday.

“Woody [Johnson] and I have met with Rex,” he said. “This is a personal matter, and he has our full support.”

Johnson, the Jets owner, is scheduled to address the media Thursday, but it had been previously scheduled so he could talk about the suspension of Sal Alosi for tripping a Dolphins player.

Several players told ESPNNewYork.com they had seen the Deadspin report.

Darrelle Revis told reporters that Ryan addressed the situation in the Friday morning team meeting.

“His message this morning was, you know, 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.’ He said, ‘Right now, I feel embarrassed. … Right now, we need to focus on Chicago,” Revis said. Another player, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told ESPNNewYork.com that Ryan referred to the report in the meeting as “an embarrassing family matter.”