Meyer is working to mitigate damage
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said that he has sent letters and had conversations with families of players as a key step toward containing and repairing the scandal that led to his threegame suspension, a saga he describes as “a window in time I made an error.”
He acknowledged Monday that the program’s reputation has suffered and said he hopes more clarity about what happened will help mitigate the damage.
In what normally would have been a news conference about the week’s football game, Meyer met for nearly an hour with reporters who questioned him about his mismanagement of fired assistant Zach Smith and his resulting suspension after a university investigation.
“I think there was,” Meyer said when asked whether the program was damaged. He said the letters and talks with families of players were to assuage concerns that he turned his back on domestic violence allegations.
“The damage, I believe, is that we just went through a really hard time, and I made a mistake in helping a troubled employee, went too far in trying to help someone.”
Florida running back Malik Davis will be sidelined for an “extended period” after suffering a broken left foot, coach Dan Mullen said. ... Rutgers senior cornerback Blessuan Austin needs knee surgery and probably won’t play again this season, coach Chris Ash announced . ... Presbyterian will play Lindsey Wilson College on Sept. 27 as a makeup for its canceled home game against Stetson due to Hurricane Florence.