Jim Rome tears Meyer and OSU apart
Not a Rome guy, but you have to give credit where credit is due. He hits the nail on the head harder than anyone I've seen so far with this. Link
Text:
Urban Meyer’s A Disgrace
Big winner on the field, colossal loser in life
The Ohio State board of trustees met yesterday to discuss the future of Urban Meyer. And what went down was pretty much what everyone expected. Only worse. Much worse. Because Meyer ends up getting suspended for three games. Meyer is still the head coach at Ohio State.
First off, does the punishment fit the crime? Well, consider this… Terrelle Pryor got five games for tattoos. And Urban Meyer got three games for protecting an alleged abuser and lying about it. So you tell me, if the punishment fits the crime. And if you need some help. It doesn’t.
That press conference was a joke. And Meyer’s a disgrace. If the board of trustees thought this guy was contrite, apologetic and learned a lesson, they’re more ignorant than Urb himself. Because he just gave everyone a giant middle finger. This dude is freaking empty. He’s a hypocrite. And a liar. At his core, he’s nothing. And he proved it at the presser, by apologizing to Buckeye Nation, but not the alleged victim of domestic violence, Courtney Smith. Apologized to his loser fans, who like Urb, think he did nothing wrong, but not to the woman who one of his employees was allegedly beating.
He’s not sorry to Courtney Smith who was allegedly abused by her husband, Urb’s sorry it got out. And that he had to answer questions about it. And got caught in a lie about it. But not a single word about the victim. And that’s because Urb thinks he’s the victim. He thinks he’s the one who’s been wronged, not a bruised and bloodied Courtney Smith. Never mind firing the guy, he doesn’t even think he should have been suspended. This dude is a disgrace.
The guy who is on record as saying treating women with respect is a core value, had a chance to make it right. Had to a chance to own it; and to lead from the front. To say, this is my program, everyone takes their cue from me, and I failed. It’s on me. But I learned a valuable lesson, this should have never happened and will never happen again on my watch... And I’ll be much better for it moving forward. But there was none of that. Instead, when asked a direct question about Courtney Smith, he just stood up there and puked all over himself.
Normally in a situation like this, I’d say, Meyer’s not sorry he enabled an alleged wife beater, he’s sorry he’s in this situation. Normally, I’d say that, but I didn’t even have to here, because the guy literally said it for me!! He literally said I’m sorry for the situation we’re in. He should have just said, Courtney, I’m sorry my employee allegedly assaulting you has led to my three game suspension. I’m sorry you’re getting abused got me suspended. Because, in effect, that’s exactly what he’s saying. He doesn’t feel like he owes her an apology; he comes off like she owes him one! She owes him one for putting him in this position.
Never mind that this guy doesn’t give a damn about domestic violence. He couldn’t be bothered to pretend like he does. Couldn’t even be bothered to make up or have an apology to a question he knew was coming. .
You see, in Urb’s world, Urb’s not the problem, Courtney Smith is. Courtney Smith and the members of the media who investigated his wife beating employee, Zach Smith. They’re the ones that caused Urb problems. Urb didn’t do anything wrong. Everyone else did.
There is so much more garbage… from Urb … from the school… and from the investigation, that I’m going to need another take to set it all up. And by the way, Buckeye Nation, you’re nearly the disgrace that your hero is. Rushing to defend this guy makes you look almost as bad as this guy. And right now, I’m sure anyone, anywhere in sports looks any worse.
But let me leave you with this. Urban Meyer claims that his core values are honesty and respect for women. And he lied about and covered for a guy with a history of domestic violence. So what does that tell you about his core values? That they’re useless. That at the core of Urban Meyer is…nothing. And apparently, at the core of Ohio State, is nothing.
Yesterday does not sum up Urban Meyer as a coach, but it sums up Urban Meyer as a person. Big winner on the field, colossal loser in life. A complete and utter failure as a human being.
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:46 PM ^
Wow... I usually try to catch Rome once in a while but wasn’t able today. Sorry I missed this one!
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:29 PM ^
Well written. I feel like I've heard these arguments before but my doctor put me on a new medication and I have trouble remembering important facts from the past day or so. He called them "forget me now" pills.
August 23rd, 2018 at 6:19 PM ^
"I know those prescription commercials on TV have a long list of side effects, but I’ve never heard: warning, causes patient to lie about anything that might make him look bad. I’m sure he has a great memory for the good things, though. Don’t worry about that."
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:46 PM ^
He also had Brett McMurphy on during the first hour of the program (good interview), and spent most of the first 2 hours trashing OSU and Meyer. He's had a couple OSU fans call in, all of whom are firmly in the "Meyer should have been fired camp."
August 23rd, 2018 at 4:37 PM ^
I have seen people talk about how their older parents, whowate buckey fans/grads, who are really disappointed. Some of which say they won't buy more merchandise or go to games.
However, the fans/grads, that are under 40 or 50... Not so much.
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:46 PM ^
That's a fairly decent summary
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:49 PM ^
"Big winner on the field, colossal loser in life. A complete and utter failure as a human being."
Seems fair.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:09 PM ^
Game Day sign material
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:51 PM ^
Wow... well, he's not wrong, not in the slightest.
Btw, reading it to myself in my head, in Jim Rome's voice really made it come alive!
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:08 PM ^
Lol, was doing the same. Romey went right for it!
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:53 PM ^
Ouch
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:54 PM ^
Wow that is quite a "de-pants-ing".
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:09 PM ^
A golden de-pants-ing!
August 23rd, 2018 at 4:51 PM ^
I see what you did there! +1 #fakepoints
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:55 PM ^
Wow. I agree completely with Jim Rome.
All the focus on the details of the investigation are just window-dressing. Urban lied about domestic violence, violating his two core values, and cared far more about protecting himself and Zach Smith than actually being honest and treating women with respect.
Pathetic.
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:57 PM ^
I heard it live. The outrage in Rome's voice makes it even better.
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:57 PM ^
http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=24453580
Stephen A. on urban and osu's response
August 23rd, 2018 at 4:13 PM ^
Stephen A brings up something I didn't know...Urban will be allowed to lead practices prior to games 2 and 3. So essentially the suspension is even LESS than the paltry 3 games it appears.
Fuck Ohio State. Fuck them all.
August 23rd, 2018 at 2:59 PM ^
Rome out!
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:03 PM ^
I've never been a big fan of Rome (Can't stand his voice. And his cadence. Oh, and yea, this stupid way of making points. Scratch that - great points!), but I love the shredding he gives Urban and the shitty side (~80%) of the OSU fanbase.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:03 PM ^
I never watch ESPN, unless its a game, but I caught Stephen A Smith today. He RIPPED Meyer. Said before yesterday's press conference, he didn't think Urban should be fired, but now he is totally flipped on the issue. Also, went to town on Urban acting like the victim during the press conference. He was brutal on him.
Should also add, he had Christine Brennan on, who trashed him, but said as a journalist, it's her duty to now call the NCAA and ask if they are going to get involved. And if not, why?
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:31 PM ^
My thought after watching the spoiled brat at that pathetic presser was why hasn't the NCAA investigated this? Isn't there a Title IX issue here and who is responsible for enforcing it? Not that the NCAA is effective at this sort of thing, but to just let OSU handle this internally by hiring an "independent" investigator and then gerrymandering the results into a 3-game suspension is not effective either.
I hope that this thing dogs Urban Meyer for years to come and I hope that the reporters keep hammering him every chance they get. Maybe he will come undone and do something stupid to get some sort of OJ-style justice...
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:34 PM ^
I'm not holding my breath on either count - the NCAA investigating or karma for Urban.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:38 PM ^
PREACH! Why can't Urban be more like Lloyd Braun?!?
August 23rd, 2018 at 4:10 PM ^
"YOU'RE NOT GIVING AWAY MY WATER PIC!!!!!"
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:06 PM ^
yea wow, f osu!!!!!!!
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:06 PM ^
His follow-up to this is also scathing: LINK
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:28 PM ^
That is savage. Go Jim Go!
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:06 PM ^
Good stuff, exactly how I felt watching that presser yesterday.
Urban definitely displayed some sociopathic behavior yesterday. Absolutely remorseless about the whole thing. And the worst part is that OSU is the biggest enabler in all of this. They enable all of Meyer's bullshit, which allowed Meyer to enable Smith's abusive behavior. I'm still flabbergasted about the information that was released yesterday from the investigative report, and that that information resulted in merely a 3 game suspension (which is in reality a 1 game suspension considering he can work with the team starting Sept. 2nd, and which their president had to fight really hard to get any sort of punishment at all). OSU simply doesn't give a shit, and that is both frightening and disturbing.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:13 PM ^
Not sure where else to put this so here goes, (from ESPN.com, emphasis added by me):
• After Courtney and Zach Smith were formally divorced on Sept. 2, 2016, Zach Smith's "job performance suffered, and he was regularly late to practice and workouts," according to the report. Smith also failed to appear at scheduled recruiting visits at various high schools, despite reporting that he had.
"Zach Smith recalls that Meyer warned him that if he continued to be late and otherwise unreliable, he would be fired," the report said.
Gene Smith recommended replacing Zach Smith at the time, but Meyer decided not to do so, the report said. Smith received only a 3 percent raise in February 2016, by far the smallest he had received for any year he was on staff and the smallest for any full-time assistant coach that year.
http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24450632/ohio-state-sum…
So, performance suffered, late to practice and workouts, failed to make recruiting visits, LIED ABOUT IT... and got a 3% pay raise. I can see why Urban is so upset. He probably feels like he deserves a raise for not deliberately lying. You know, unintentional lies merit raises at osu.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:13 PM ^
Can't argue with Jim on this one. Urban is a sleaze.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:16 PM ^
Turned on ESPN for the first time since last football season.
Greeny and Jay Bilis we're hammering Osu.
Got home and Stephen A was hammering them.
Some guy named Will Cain is hammering them.
Its beautiful, may this last forever.
August 23rd, 2018 at 4:55 PM ^
It will be in the game commentary every game they play this year.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:18 PM ^
RACK HIM!
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:22 PM ^
You know, this guy is starting to grow on me.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:24 PM ^
We have to beat them soundly over the next decade. I want Michigan to put him in an early grave.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:25 PM ^
Gonna have to agree with just about everything...
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:38 PM ^
That was the sorriest press conference of all time. Three people stood up on the podium and took credit for defending the price of whatever was debated behind closed doors for hours. And then, thought they could come out and acting contritely, bullshit their way through 20 minutes of questioning by reporters who were originally lied to, leading to this circus.
Urban Meyer lied about every aspect of his role in his supervision of Zach Smith or lack thereof. We don't need an interpretation of those facts, the record of his lack of supervision on any ground you want to raise is plainly evident. We have the facts before us in a summary of investigation, which under any normal employee evaluation, would damn the boss to purgatory.
But let's be clear, not only was Meyer remorseless about the circumstances that led to his discomforting leave of absence, which I am certain he felt was entirely inappropriate, he lied about his actions in the dismissal of Smith, just as he lied about knowing or not knowing just about anything going on in Smith's life whether at Ohio State football headquarters or not.
The fact that he took responsibility at the press conference for things he either knowingly chose not to remember, medically claimed he was excused from recalling or that he deliberately decided to expunge from recollection by erasing the record of it, makes his specious claim of lack of knowledge about anything -worthless.
Let's be clear, Meyer lied to the media in Chicago about what he knew about the Smith dismissal. Then days later he lied about his full knowledge of what he knew and actually reported. That was intriguingly confirmed Wedesday night by AD Gene Smith, who claimed that he rather than Meyer, who insisted he reported Smith to university authorities about an alleged domestic violence incident, whether real or not, then contacted Meyer about it.
This little detail is troubling because it wasn't vetted before the press conference, and because Smith himself took special care to point out that he indeed was the one to report it, and then call ZS in from the road on a recruiting trip to answer questions before notifying his direct superior of what was happening.
This isn't what Meyer claimed in his own written statement defending himself. And yet, this bullshit was allowed to stand without the record being corrected.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:45 PM ^
Rome is definitely not a very good writer. He writes in the exact same sophomoric style that he talks, which makes him seem even dumber than he really is.
August 23rd, 2018 at 4:48 PM ^
His message is on point and that’s what matters
August 23rd, 2018 at 4:50 PM ^
Speaking of dumb, that's a transcript of his live verbal rant, and he was not reading from a written script.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:52 PM ^
He hit every point possible and hit it hard. Will Cain on Espn is just hammering Meyer as well. How can OSU not go out and find some more dirt on this guy so they can fire him and jut move on. Well frankly because the school is just as bad as Meyer and they are a perfect match for each other. Very disgusting, Jim Rome Sir! Give yourself a TONGUE for that rant! Awesome
August 23rd, 2018 at 4:15 PM ^
Someone will find his text messages to Zach Smith and that may in fact end his career.
August 23rd, 2018 at 6:24 PM ^
Yo, Putin. Got a job for you . . .
August 23rd, 2018 at 6:52 PM ^
Because they don’t want to find anything. They could have pushed the deleted text issue further but said “welp, they aren’t here so he must not have text anyone before this past year”.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:54 PM ^
It's both moral and right to pass justice on the rich as you would the poor, and vice versa. Ohio State didn't do that. They gave Urban and his winning percentage preferential treatment. Being a part of the B1G makes me sick.
August 23rd, 2018 at 3:56 PM ^
The fact that he (Urban) didn't even apologize to Courtney shows he has no soul
August 23rd, 2018 at 5:20 PM ^
"The fact that he (Urban) didn't even apologize to Courtney shows he has no soul..."
Clearly, Meyer wasn't (ever) going to mention Courtney's name...
if you don't say the name eg; "that school up north" it's not relevant.