In the days since Ryan walked off the field in Columbus following Ohio State’s loss to Michigan to end the regular season, his family’s safety has been the main priority after receiving the death threats from a lunatic fringe of Buckeye fans.
There was obviously some monster fallout in Columbus after the loss, with fans calling for Ryan Day to be fired after Ohio State lost its fourth straight game to the Wolverines. But what some people haven’t heard is how everything spiraled out of control from a safety standpoint for Ryan Day and his family.
Speaking with the Columbus Dispatch, Nina Day, Ryan Day’s wife, spoke about the terrible events that came in the wake of Michigan’s loss. The situation behind the scenes in the family has turned dangerously upside down.
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Head coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates with his wife, Christina, and daughter after defeating the Oregon Ducks 41-21 in the Rose Bowl game presented by Prudential at Rose Bowl Stadium on January 01, 2025 in Pasadena , in California.
“The time between the Michigan game and the Tennessee game was as low and dark as you could imagine. Extremely negative. Unprecedented hatred,” Nina Day said.
When Ryan Day was eight years old, his father died by suicide. So when fans somehow got a hold of Nina Day’s cell phone number in the days following Michigan’s loss, unfathomable messages began pouring in at a steady pace, before Nina decided that It was best to disconnect your phone.
“They told me repeatedly to have Ryan follow in his father’s footsteps and kill himself,” Nina noted to the Dispatch.
Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leaves the field after the game against the Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes on November 30, 2024, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH. (Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Outside, Ryan Day continued to move forward, holding his weekly press conference, waiting to see who his team would play in the first round of the College Football Playoff. But inside the family, things were starting to spiral out of control when it came to their safety.
According to Nina Day, their 16-year-old son RJ began receiving death threats on social media, while the family’s address was also posted, leading Ryan Day to hire security guards armed to protect their families at home. There was also a thought from Nina that she would have to take her children and leave Columbus during this time, not knowing what the next month might bring.
“I think he sometimes second-guessed his decision to step in and be in the spotlight that we’re in. He felt responsible and felt bad that he put us in this position to get us out of it,” Nina Day mentioned conversations with her husband.
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There are fans in every sport who take things too seriously, and this is another example of something that couldn’t be controlled. There was no reason the family of the day had to fear their lives during a football game, I don’t care how much you get paid or what your job title is.
This is obviously the ugly part of sports, and it’s not like this is the first time we’ve heard about coaches having to deal with these types of situations, and it won’t be the last.
Head coach Sherrone Moore of the Michigan Wolverines shakes hands with head coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes after the game at Ohio Stadium on November 30, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (Jason Mowry/Getty Images)
“He fought like hell and brought us out of a very dark place that we were in five weeks ago because of his resilience, because I don’t think anyone really thought it was going to end like it did. he did it,” Nina Day said. “Everyone thought the season ended in November.
“All he kept saying to me was, ‘I want to bring you peace. I just want to bring you peace. “And he knew that for us to feel any kind of peace, he had to win it all.”
All this on a football match. A family fearing for their lives, needing armed security to guard their home, just to have a peaceful night’s sleep and feel safe.
While Nina Day mentioned that you can’t label an entire fan base as the “lunatic fringe,” there are certainly a number of people who should be held accountable for their actions towards the Family of the Day.
As I watched Ryan Day celebrate with his family on the field Monday night, hugging every member of the family, there was definitely more to the story than just a head coach dealing with outside noise.
