Jeff Lebby Forced To Apologize For Bringing Father-In-Law Art Briles On The Field At Oklahoma

Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby welcomed former Baylor head coach, and his father-in-law, Art Briles onto the field following the Sooners' home win over SMU on Saturday. After catching serious heat from enraged college football fans, and the Oklahoma athletic director, Lebby unsurprisingly apologized on Monday morning.

Briles was the head coach of Baylor during the rape allegations and scandal involving the football program before eventually being fired in 2016. Lebby, who is married to Briles' daughter Staley, was a member of the Baylor staff during that time as well.

After a photo of Briles standing with his son-in-law on the Oklahoma field went viral on Saturday, Lebby was asked if he had specifically reached out to Briles to come onto the field. Lebby made it clear that he is a family man, stating multiple times that Briles is “the grandfather to my two kids.”

Jeff Lebby has issued an apology for allowing Art Briles on the Oklahoma sideline. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

During his uncomfortable opening statement of his weekly news conference Monday, Lebby said Briles' presence was a "distraction."

"Just want everybody to understand, my father-in-law, his presence on the field after the game the other night is something that created a distraction. And I do, I apologize for that," Lebby said in a prepared statement. "That was not the intent at all. The intent was just to celebrate with my family."

Everyone who possesses one ounce of common sense and decency understands that Lebby simply wanted to celebrate his team's win with family members, which includes Briles, but we live in the year 2023 and facts and common sense take a backseat to feelings.

The NCAA conducted a five-year investigation into Baylor’s sexual assault reporting standards and “could not conclude that Baylor violated NCAA rules when it failed to report allegations of and address sexual and interpersonal violence committed on its campus” in 2021.

Briles was made the face of one of the worst scandals in college sports history, but ultimately had his name cleared by the NCAA’s own investigation.

Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione released a statement on Saturday night in reaction to Briles being on the field stating “I was just as disappointed as many of our fans when I learned of the postgame situation tonight. It shouldn’t have happened and it was my expectation it never would, based on boundaries we previously set."

During his statement Monday morning, Lebby said that Castiglione and head coach Brent Venables spoke with him and assured Sooners fans that Briles won't be coming on the field again.