Before cornerback Aaron Ross signed with the Jaguars last month, he had an unusual request: He asked if he’d be able to miss a few days of training camp to go to London to watch his wife in the Olympics. The Jaguars said yes, and Ross said today that’s one of the reasons he decided to sign.
“They talked about it and came to an agreement that I could miss a couple of days to go watch my wife run,” Ross said. “They preach family first here, so that was a big part of it.”
Ross’s wife, Sanya Richards-Ross, won the bronze medal in the 400 meters at the 2008 Olympics, but Ross wasn’t there to see it because his team at the time, the Giants, wouldn’t let him out of training camp. This time around Ross got Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey and General Manager Gene Smith to commit to giving him the time off before he signed.
The women’s 400-meter final takes place on Sunday, August 5, and Ross said he plans to fly to London just in time to make sure he can be in the stadium for that.
“I won’t go until her final race,” Ross said. “I want to miss as few days as possible.”
But Ross will miss a couple days, and the Jaguars are OK with that.