College football will always be my first sports love. From the bands, the cheerleaders, the massive stadiums, and the 100+ year old rivalries – I see nothing in the National Football League that compares.
It doesn’t hurt that the very first football game I ever attended featured my beloved Alabama Crimson Tide all the way back in 1984.
College football is my first sports love.
I believe it points to a really serious problem. And that problem is that it appears that OSU are prioritizing football success over domestic violence.
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Let’s go back to the 2015 Sugar Bowl following the 2014 season. It was year one of the College Football playoff, and my Crimson Tide had work to do.
I never thought that was Nick Saban’s best team. And I honestly was surprised Bama was that good that season. And I put a ton of emotional energy into that Sugar Bowl game.
See, that game was played a mere week after I buried my Dad – the man who was one of 7-year-old Ryan’s companions in Birmingham’s Legion Field in September of 1984. The day I fell in love with College Football.
I thought that game could heal my broken heart.
Bama went into the game a 7-point favorite. They led by 14 at one point. And they ended up losing 42-35 to eventual national champion Ohio State. The Buckeyes’ head coach was Urban Meyer.
That was the second time that a Meyer-coached team stuck a dagger in the hearts of the Crimson Tide.
In 2008 – Bama came into the SEC Championship Game with a 12-0 record and ranked number one. The Tide went into the 4th quarter with a 20-17 lead before Tim Tebow led the Florida Gators to 14 straight en route to a 31-20 victory.
I share this because Urban Meyer is one of the best coaches in college football. I’d rank him as the 2nd best in the game today behind Bama’s Nick Saban.
This piece isn’t about football. It’s time to string up Urban Meyer on the Wheel of Peasants.
I haven’t written one of these in a while. But I’m due.
After the events of the past month, Urban Meyer has proven himself to be a peasant. For that matter, so is Meyer’s employer – The Ohio State University.
Let’s go back to when Meyer was the head coach at the University of Florida.
In June of 2009, a man named Zach Smith was arrested after being accused of throwing his pregnant wife, Courtney, against a wall and choking her. Charges were dropped for lack of evidence. But Courtney alleges in a 2018 interview that Smith’s mother and the lawyer representing her then-husband pressured her to drop the charges.
It should be noted that Smith was part of the UF football staff at the time.
In 2012, Urban Meyer was hired as the head coach in Columbus, Ohio. And one of his first hires was Zach Smith to be his wide receivers’ coach.
Before we go on with the facts of this bizarre case, here’s an interesting twist.
Smith’s grandfather was a man name Earle Bruce. In 1979, Bruce was given the unenviable task of replacing legendary Buckeyes’ coach Woody Hayes when he was let go after punching a Clemson defensive lineman during the 1978 Gator Bowl.
Bruce remained the Buckeye’s head coach through the 1987 season. In 86 and 87, he had a young graduate assistant on his staff named Urban Meyer who cites Bruce as a mentor.
Are you picking up on a pattern here?
Back to the Meyer debacle…
In 2015, Zach Smith separated from Courtney and later divorced. And several more times in subsequent years, Smith ran into trouble with the law around incidents with Courtney and their children.
But let’s focus on one incident in November of 2015.
On November 9th, police in Powell, Ohio near Columbus investigated claims of menacing by stalking from Courtney. No charges were ever filed, but Zach was issued a restraining order on November 10th.
Let’s flash forward to December of 2017. Zach was given a warning by Powell police for harassment and threats toward Courtney at 1:30 AM on the 17th. No charges were filed.
May of 2018 – Smith was arrested after a dispute with Courtney over an argument about their son. Courtney was given a protective order on July 20.
On July 24, Urban Meyer stood in front of reporters at Big 10 media days and denied knowledge of the 2015 incident.
On August 1st, McMurphy runs another story citing text messages between Courtney and Urban’s wife Shelly – who is also an OSU employee. On August 3rd, McMurphy tweets what he says is the actual exchange between Shelly and Courtney. In this exchange, Courtney appears to remind Zach that he attempted to strangle her during a Mexican vacation in March of 2015.
After all this, Urban was placed on administrative leave on August 1st pending investigation into these incidents. On August 22nd, Meyer and athletic director Gene Smith were issued suspensions. Meyer was suspended for the Buckeyes’ first 3 games of the 2018 season.
I have to say, recounting all these stories has given me a headache and made me sick to my stomach.
I hope I haven’t lost y’all.
I recount all this stuff because of the pattern of denying, hiding, and covering up some pretty serious allegations.
But I believe it points to a really serious problem. And that problem is that it appears that OSU are prioritizing football success over domestic violence.
As far as I’m concerned, the lowest form of peasant is the male human who abuses animals, seniors, children, or women. And if you cover up these abuses, you’re right in there with them!
Gerry Sandusky was Joe Paterno’s right hand man at Penn State. And I don’t think I need to recount what went down there.
Paterno’s coverup of all the abuses made him just as culpable as Sandusky. And a legendary career was ruined because of this.
I’m not saying that the systematic abuse and coverup of the sexual abuse of young boys for many years is in the same ballpark as what happened at Ohio State. But it points to a serious lack of priorities among some of the college football elite.
Let me be clear, if something like this had happened at Alabama, I’d be stringing Nick Saban right up on the wheel of peasants.
My knee jerk reaction to the Meyer situation was that he needed to be fired. And I’m not sure if that’s what indeed needed to happen.
But I damn sure believe that suspending the man for three games – all games the Buckeyes should win – isn’t enough.
No championship, no victory over your arch rival is worth sacrificing your integrity or moral standing in the world.
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This whole sordid affair in Columbus points to a dangerous problem. No championship, no victory over your arch rival is worth sacrificing your integrity or moral standing in the world.
I’ve always respected Urban Meyer as a football coach. He’s been at the helm of two of the most heartbreaking losses my Crimson Tide has faced in recent years.
I never had much respect for Meyer the man. But that respect is gone now.
Oh really?! Then why in the blue hell did you keep Zach Smith around for almost ten years then?
Urban Meyer and The Ohio State University – you most certainly belong on the wheel of peasants.
Photo by Brayden George on Unsplash