At least Ohio State
coach Urban Meyer now admits he’s Urban Liar, but he should still be Urban Fired, writes Mike Bianchi.
Urban Meyer now has officially admitted he’s Urban Liar.
But only because he is shamelessly and brazenly trying to keep from being Urban Fired.
Meyer, the embattled Ohio State Buckeyes coach, issued a completely disingenuous statement on Friday saying that he “failed” when he denied knowing about domestic-violence allegations against one of his former assistant coaches. Meyer told reporters at Big Ten Media Days last week he knew nothing about a 2015 complaint or any other domestic issues that Zach Smith had during the six years Meyer and Smith worked together at Ohio State. However, in an obviously desperate attempt to save his job, he released a lengthy statement on Twitter saying he may have lied to the media but he reported the incidents to his Ohio State superiors.
How convenient that almost simultaneously to Meyer’s statement being released on Friday, Zach Smith did an interview with ESPN in which he used words like “honest” and “heartfelt” to describe Meyer’s statement.
Gag. Calling anything in Urban Meyer’s statement “honest” and “heartfelt” is pure, unabashed, unadulterated, unconditional garbage.
“Here is the truth: While at the University of Florida, and now at The Ohio State University, I have always followed proper reporting protocols and procedures when I have learned of an incident involving a student-athlete, coach or member of our staff by elevating the issues to the proper channels,” Meyer wrote in his statement posted on Twitter. “And, I did so regarding the Zach Smith incident in 2015. I take that responsibility very seriously and any suggestion to the contrary is simply false.”
Meyer then admitted that he did not handle the situation appropriately during Big Ten Media Days, saying that his job is to be “clear, compassionate and, most of all, completely accurate.
“Unfortunately, at Big Ten Media days on July 24, I failed on many of these fronts,” wrote in his statement. “My intention was not to say anything inaccurate or misleading. However, I was not adequately prepared to discuss these sensitive personnel issues with the media, and I apologize for the way I handled those questions.” Really, Urban? Seriously? You weren’t prepared to discuss the topic even though the volatile story of your cover-up broke earlier in the week?
Your intention was not to say anything misleading?
Then why did you essentially accuse college football reporter Brett McMurphy, who was simply doing his job, of making up the story of allegations against Smith in 2015?
As McMurphy himself tweeted after Meyer’s laughable statement was released Friday: “Urban Meyer said he didn’t intend ‘to say anything inaccurate’ about Zach Smith incident. He was asked 9 questions about it at Big Ten Media Days and said: “I know nothing; never had a conversation about that; who would create a story like that and If I (knew) I would have made a change.”
Well, Urban, you DID know and you DIDN’T make a change. And that’s why your statement and Zach Smith’s coinciding interview on ESPN can only be perceived as a pitifully orchestrated PR ploy to save your job.
Seriously, folks, pay no attention to all of Meyer’s concocted pablum because the facts are still the same as they’ve always been: Ohio State’s head coach kept an accused serial domestic abuser on his staff for a decade. And the only reason he fired Zach Smith is because a really good reporter — McMurphy — made it public.
Meyer’s statement is pathetic in many ways — no more so than the fact that he is trying to blame his superiors for keeping Smith on his staff. “I have always followed proper reporting protocols and procedures when I have learned of an incident involving a student-athlete, coach or member of our staff by elevating the issues to the proper channels,” Meyer wrote.
Translation: Don’t blame me; blame my bosses.
Question: If Meyer’s superiors knew about this, then why was Meyer put on administrative leave and not Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith?
Meyer is absolutely shameless in blaming his bosses. It’s not his superiors who have been two-faced in their duplicitous dialogue about violence against women over the years; it’s Meyer.
I’ve written this before and I will reiterate it here: Ohio State should not have to fire Meyer because Meyer should voluntarily step down on his own for being an incredible hypocrite. He’s always said that one of his “core values” is that he has “zero tolerance” for violence against women. In fact, Meyer’s five core values are emblazoned on the wall inside Ohio State’s football complex. Among the five — in all capital letters — is “TREAT WOMEN WITH RESPECT.”
The thing is, this is the same two-faced Meyer we knew at the University of Florida. Back then, Urban also babbled about treating women with respect and having zero tolerance about crimes against women.
And then in 2010, when star running back Chris Rainey threatened to kill his estranged girlfriend by sending her a text message — “Time to die, bitch” — Meyer suspended Rainey for four whole games. He brought Rainey back just in time so he could score a touchdown and help lead the Gators to a 34-31 victory over rival Georgia.
At the time, Carol Wick, who was then the executive director of an Orlando domestic violence shelter, told me: “I think somebody in sports has got to take a stand. I think it would do a lot of good if [Urban Meyer] were the first coach to step up and say, ‘No, this is unacceptable behavior. I wouldn’t tolerate it in my home. I wouldn’t want it to happen to my daughter and I’m not going to tolerate it on my team. Violence and threats against women are not acceptable.’ ”
Except if you coached under Urban Meyer at Ohio State or played for Urban Meyer at Florida.
Meyer violated his “core” values with the Gators just as he has violated his “core” values with the Buckeyes.
And now he has violated the public trust with his constant lying and denying.
The only thing missing from Urban’s statement and Zach Smith’s ESPN interview Friday night was the Ohio State marching band dotting the ‘i’ on lie.