Meyer releases statement:
To be fair, Gene Smith should absolutely be fired for a lot of reasons
Absolutely! He should be gone regardless of how this plays out. He has been employed for too many of these transgressions.
That may be the Ohio State strategy . . . "Hey Urban, Gene Smith is gone anyway, just pile the blame on him and you'll walk."
What a bizarre response. He acknowledges that he knew about Smith, yet Smith continued to remain on the staff. This wasn't a McQueary situation where he was some peon going up against an icon. He's the icon. It seems like all he did here was throw Gene Smith under the bus with him.
He will be retained. In the statement, he admitted to knowing about the 2015 incidents and DID report them to the proper authorities. The lingering question about Urban was what did he do with information once his wife told him about the abuse from Smith? Looks like he followed protocol. As for the media day situation, he simply flat out lied multiple times and there's no excuse for that. Lying to the media is not something that will get Urban Meyer fired however. OSU skates like usual.
Now back to Harbaugh being 1-5 against his rivals and hating chicken...
I’m curious to know what proof he has that he notified the right people. And if he doesn’t, I don’t know if the university will fall in their own sword here.
Urban is arrogant and this statement was full of thinly veiled arrogance and a pretty blatant abdication of most responsibility for what happened.
It'll come down to is that he'll be off the hook but as many have stated, it's about his morals. He should've been man enough to fire Smith back then. He wasn't but whoever advised him let him know that within the university rules he could keep Smith on as coach. Urban is a coward to the core.
So he knew and kept him on? Even if he did report it, he has the power to fire anyone, so he knowingly employed a serial abuser. Fire his ass.
"Never turn a one day story in a two day story."
-Don Canham
This is going to be a lot longer than a 2 day story now...
I loved that quote (think I first encountered it in Three and Out), but TBH, this was probably not going to be a one day story.
Meyer is such a Duechebag! This guy and OSU have been talking for two days to figure out a way to cover they’re tracks on the reporting. OSU will defend Meyer and say that he did in fact report to us the matter of Zach Smith. OSU is afraid of getting banned and reductions and probation now. With Tressell and the Wrestling and now possibly this, OSU w do everything they can to protect Urban now and make it like a over sight. I can’t believe he lied on podium and now says something different and he is gonna walk away Scott FREE with a slap on the wrist.
Meyer has the worse track record ever when it comes to this stuff. If it was Harbaugh Espn would be killing him and basically forcing him to resign. Sad for the victims when football wins are more important than a young ladies well being.
Isn’t this really designed to fight any “for cause” termination? I feel like Rick Pitino did something similar.
Meyer's statement contains an obvious lie.
"My intention was not to say anything inaccurate or misleading."
Well, what was your intention then? Why didn't you clear it up right after you said it?
He was aware, but not fully aware.
He is done. He is not squeaky clean (go back to the 09 incident, Aaron Hernandez, this 15 incident, etc) and there is no way OSU can continue on with him. The scrutiny that program will face with him there (in this day and age) will be like no other. OSU is bigger than Urban and they will cut him loose. They just need to show he is at fault to avoid his $40M buyout, or negotiate a reduced buyout. I think that is where we are in this case. He just admitted his guilt. If he didn't want a douchebag coaching these kids, he could have fired him. Reporting to the "appropriate channels" as he states it in this letter and keeping him on staff is a cop out and just a negotiating tactic . Everyone knows how much power Urban had. He could have fired him if he wanted to.
Short version, he didn't do anything wrong except lie at Big Ten Media Days. Translation, he will be reinstated, donate to a domestic violence charity, and will be more discreet with his sliminess going forward.
"I was (prepared, just) not adequately prepared"
Is that like being aware, just not fully aware?
This reads like he is saying "it's either Gene Smith or me leaving." He seems to indicate he passed it on to who he should have, and they did not do their part. I wonder if this statement came from his side (lawyers, wife, etc). or was crafted by OSU.
Can't it be both. They are and will continue to bend over backwards. Reporting it in 2015, even while within the rules, without firing him still condones the ongoing abuse. This statement was put out to nail the AD to the wall to keep Meyer.
HUH?!?!?!
I didn't mean to lie to reporters and say I didn't know anything about the abuse with Zach Smith and his wife, and I didn't mean to double down and say that I even asked the school about this situation and they didn't even know anything about it. No, I just wasn't prepared for such a question that I had plenty of time to prepare for. I wont tell you why I continued to employ a serial wife abuser, I just ask for your prayers.
What kind of response is this?!?
The problem for Urbz is that he thought he was holier than holy, and no one would look into this matter.
"Oh, what a tangle web we weave...when first we practice to deceive."
-Walter Scott
Wait-- is this what was supposed to be in the press conference?
What a joke. Except, you know, the part about a woman getting abused.
What is interesting about the statement is what it does not say. Specifically, it does not say when he reported it. Nor does it say why he kept him on even with his knowledge. The statement merely gives the appearance of suggesting that he reported it in 2015. But he could claim he followed protocols by reporting it in 2018
What he said( dreaded double post cleanup)
He basically confessed to everything. So he knew about 2015 but LIED (I'm sorry, he chose the wrong words as he was ill prepared). Why wasn't he fired before then? If you respect women so much that should have been an easy decision.
The ol' 5pm Friday press release! Typed out on an iPhone and tweeted!
Yuuuuuuuuuuuup
I think someone did some quick calculus and decided they would rather lose their AD than their head coach.
I have a feeling that McMurphy and the victim might have a bit more up their sleave and were waiting for Urbz to make a misstep. If they have more proof that Zach Smith was harassing, stalking, and threatening his ex-wife over the last couple years, then Urbz sounds like an even bigger douche that he does in this statement. He might ultimately skate because this is Ohio State and they care about nothing but winning, but this is not over.
Get off the high horse. You know damn well if this was Harbaugh, UM would be doing everything possible to keep Harbaugh.
Wow. Does this scumbag not have lawyers and representatives telling him to shut the fuck up? In true self-righteous hypocrite fashion, he's claiming he knew about the abuse all along but kept employing a serial abuser, then lied to (and blamed) the media to cover up his complicity, and now feels like he's a victim? He's also basically saying he told OSU and the program did nothing about Zach Smith. What a fucking shit-show.
So, "failing with words" is to lying as "alt right" is to nazis. Bold move. Will probably pay off considering the cesspool he operates in and the current climate for facts.
Apparently Urban knew back in 2009. I think he gets suspended, but they find any way they can to keep him.
He is now claiming he did report it - which means he repeatedly lied at BTN media day. How easy is it to fake a report from 2015 where Urban did report something he didn't?
If this was reported, I believe the university would be required to initiate an investigation and interview witnesses, correct?
My understanding is yes.
I went to eleven warriors just to see the reaction to the statement... I am not comparing the incidents but the delusion is similar to PSU fans. Urban is essentially passing the blame and taking no accountability. If you read the comments over there they are using "no one is perfect" and "see he did what he was supposed to do".
Glad to see you don't generalize and equate that a handful of online posts represents OSU's position.
Not sure what point you are trying to make? I gave two examples of common themes among the posters over there. The few sensible comments I have seen have been down voted.
I would venture to say this represents over 80% of the fanbase’ position. I live in Ohio and I have not spoken to an OSU fan who has communicated something different. Ohio is a fanbase that would just like to put 2 fingers in their ears right now.
Gene Smith may have portended his own doom. It seems Urban Meyer, not Jim Tressel, however, may have just had him fired.
Do you realize that your attempted joke conflates Gene Smith with former OSU President Gordon Gee? It was Gee who joked that he hoped Jim Tressel would not fire him.
A difference without a distinction.
So Urban accidentally told several lies at BTN media day - and OSU will create a fake back log of him reporting the incident to protect him!
So Gene Smith will allow creation of a fake backlog in order to save Urban and fall on the sword himself? If he’s intelligent at all, he has his own insurance policy in place that can prove there was no communication along those lines and made sure of it as soon as this story broke. If I were him, the hell I would let Urban frame me for his crime.
4 game suspension. he's back for penn state.
"I think that the Ohio State University has been foolish. I think we've all been foolish. I have great confidence in my coaches, but I will tell you that Zach Smith was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. I have Zach Smith; he just said it's not him. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be."
-- Urban Meyer
This was hilarious and subtle, but, no politics!
:)
August 3rd, 2018 at 11:11 PM ^
Has denial baaed on claims of "fake news" permeated our national being?
I'm glad I have resident visa for Japan, too, just in case.
Zach Smith on ESPN 6pm....
Did he seek out John Engler's counsel before drafting this? Everyone was asking, "What did Meyer know, and when did he know it?" and then saying, if he knew in 2015, he has to go.
So now he says "I did know in 2015, but I lied because I got confused, and anyway I reported it and somebody else fucked up and see, I did eventually fire the wife-beater just three short years later, and anywhoo, I love my Mom, and I'll see ya back out on the field in a few weeks when all this shit blows over."