JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Former kicker Josh Lambo is suing the Jacksonville Jaguars after saying he suffered emotional distress while with the team.
His lawsuit says while he was practicing for a pre-season game back in August, Lambo was in a lunge position when now-former head coach Urban Meyer approached him, kicked him in the leg, and directed profanity toward him after Lambo missed a crucial field goal in a game.
According to court documents, when Lambo told Meyer, “Don’t you ever f*****g kick me again”, the coach responded, “I’m the head ball coach, I’ll kick you whenever the f**k I want.”
“It looks to me like the way that the allegations have been phrased and the law which has been used would give him a cause of action which can proceed in court,” Cindy L. Anderson, an arbitrator for labor employment disputes, said.
Anderson has 30 years of experience in labor and employment law. She explained why Lambo is going after the Jags, and not Meyer.
“Because the way the law itself is stated, it has to be brought against the employer, and Urban Meyer wasn’t his employer, he was an agent of the employer. So it would have to be brought against the Jaguars for failure to take appropriate action after an incident had been reported,” she said.
The lawsuit also alleges that Meyer harassed Lambo, creating a hostile work environment for him. In the lawsuit, Lambo claims Meyer’s actions toward him affected his ability to sleep, practice and perform.
“I think most people would say the battery is unacceptable,” she said. “This lawsuit is not about the battery. Instead, it’s about the fact that the battery was a violation of law, and the employer should have taken action. That’s the allegation of the complaint.”
Now, Lambo is asking for his more-than $30 million-dollar salary to be paid out from last year’s season.
Action News Jax spoke to several people off-camera who expressed little to no sympathy for Lambo. One man said the lawsuit sounds like a “cash grab.”
Action News Jax reached out to Lambo for comment Wednesday afternoon. We are waiting on a response.
RELATED: Report: Former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo suing the team for emotional distress
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