Situation will tarnish Ohio State’s reputation

Right or wrong, Ohio State University’s reputation will be tarnished further this week when a special committee is expected to issue its findings in the investigation of football coach Urban Meyer. There’s no way avoiding it. Should the investigation exonerate Meyer and allow him to return to the sidelines and coach, the university will be chastised by critics across the country as being nothing more than a football factory, where winning championships is far more important than a woman’s physical safety.

If Meyer ends up being fired for allegedly not reporting a case of domestic violence, supporters of the popular coach will see him as being the fall guy for a university being swallowed by controversies and in dire need of cleaning

up its reputation . ...

Perhaps the worst scenario to play out would be if investigators settle on some middle ground, such as suspending Meyer for a couple of weeks then allowing him to return to coaching the Buckeyes.

That would be like saying, “yeah, the coach was aware of the domestic violence, but it really wasn’t that bad.”

If past history is any indication, Ohio State has shown that, if necessary, it is not afraid to fire a popular football coach who has won a national championship.

That happened to Woody Hayes and later to Jim Tressel.

Now, we wait to find out about Urban Meyer.

Read the full editorial from the Lima News at bit. ly/2vF1Z3B