NEW ORLEANS — Rex Ryan’s jovial bull session with the media yesterday suddenly turned serious when the Jets coach got the chance to defend his father.
A reported claim by late Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson that Buddy Ryan had directed a common racial epithet for African-Americans at Duerson prompted an enraged response from Rex Ryan during the annual NFL coaches breakfast.
“Can I be harsh? I thought it was ridiculous,” Ryan said, his smile disappearing instantly. “Absurd. There’s no way in hell that happened — no way in hell that happened. [Duerson] might have made [the slurs], but my dad never did. That’s how I feel.”
Beset by depression he blamed on concussions suffered in his 11-year NFL career with the Bears, Giants and Cardinals, Duerson shot himself in February at age 50. In a tragic twist, he aimed specifically at his heart so his brain could be studied for the effects of football.
Sports website Deadspin posthumously published an interview conducted seven months earlier in which Duerson claimed Buddy Ryan used the slur upon meeting the player as a rookie when Ryan was the Bears’ defensive coordinator.
Buddy Ryan, now retired in Kentucky, blasted the comment as untrue. His son picked up that baton of outrage yesterday.
“Give me a break,” Rex said. “Look out our history as a family. My dad was one of the first guys with an African-American as a quarterback [in Randall Cunningham]. My twin brother was, like, the first white coach at a historically black university, [spending] five years at Tennessee State.
“My brother and I both worked for African-American coaches in college football. There isn’t a prejudiced bone in our body or my dad’s body. That’s why I know it’s crazy and ridiculous.”
Asked if he was worried the allegation might stain his father’s proud career, Rex scoffed.
“There’s no way in hell it’s a stain on his career,” he said. “My dad is a great person. Maybe there’s a different agenda there. You can say a lot of things about my dad and me, but that’s the most ridiculous comment I’ve ever heard.”