McMurphy: Urban helped cover racially-charged practice altercation between Zach Smith & former Buckeye Trevon Grimes, OSU admits “interaction” but denies racial slur

Submitted by Bambi on November 13th, 2018 at 9:50 AM

jmblue

November 13th, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^

I've never quite understand the fixation with Hoke clapping.  All coaches do it to encourage their team, including when things are going bad.  I get that we reached a point with Hoke where we hated everything about him but this isn't something particular to him.    

Newton Gimmick

November 13th, 2018 at 1:39 PM ^

Our 30-year non-shutout streak ended at the hands of Brian VanGorder, and Hoke didn't even try to score -- yet left Gardner and Funchess in to get thrown around like rag dolls late in the 4th quarter -- all the while looking bewildered and slapping his hands like a trained seal.

Newton Gimmick

November 13th, 2018 at 3:12 PM ^

Showed no urgency on late 3rd quarter and 4th quarter drives, running the ball, with the occasional short throw, and eating up the playclock like he had the lead.  Yet keeping his best skill players in the game to get eaten alive?  Could have at least kicked a field goal to keep the streak alive since we weren't going to win anyway.  I don't know what he was trying to do.

Also, it's "silly" to take me literally.  Of course he was probably trying to score.  But he was so inept, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Section 1.8

November 13th, 2018 at 12:23 PM ^

Is that what the nation thought of Michigan, in the early fall of 2009?  That Michigan was a rogue program, abusing football players and wildly violating practice time limits?

Was it the case that "only Michigan slappies" doubted the Detroit Free Press' reporting?

Section 1.8

November 13th, 2018 at 1:28 PM ^

Well the "revelations" were not just that "college FB players work hard."  The revelations were of NCAA major violations.  (Almost completely debunked, as we know.)

I don't recall players from other programs laughing; I do recall Jim Tressel going public with (appropriate) questions about whether the story was actually looking at the right rules and procedures and wondering what it was all about.

 

CalifExile

November 13th, 2018 at 2:04 PM ^

As you know, everything that isn't listed as "minor" is a "major" violation. Those alleged violations included excessive time spent stretching and working out during the summer (the question was whether it was voluntary). Reporters asked players at rival schools about it and they laughed.

wesq

November 13th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^

If you read the article the Grime’s came to him. He has a reputation that he will give them a platform to tell their story and not bury it because he or his employer require access to the program. That’s the way it works often in journalism, if you have the reputation the sources seek you out. 

charblue.

November 13th, 2018 at 11:11 AM ^

You get a story based on your sourcing for it. And the reason why some other Buckeye family wanted to come forward to talk about another Zach Smith tale covered up by Urban is not surprising, so much as, why the hell did Urban cover for so long for Zach Smith?

I mean the preseason sham of an investigation which only underplayed the results of that third party probe never did seem to scratch the actual reason why Smith was retained and promoted by Meyer amid a whole bevy of uniquely fireable offenses for anyone else. 

So, this may be McMurphy's real motive in continuing with this storyline. Why did Urban Meyer go overboard in protecting Smith during his incredible time on Buckeye staff? I mean it's not to protect the image of a now-deceased former Ohio State head coach who was Smith's grandfather. It was not because he wanted to keep Smith's ruinous marriage together, it certainly wasn't because he was unaware of the details of Smith's ongoing behavior, which now seem loony. So what was it?

SteamboatWolverine

November 13th, 2018 at 11:35 AM ^

I agree 100%.  What if Zach Smith knows where Urban’s bodies are buried? 

If true, this would explain why Urban helped cover Smith’s 2009 arrest, why Smith followed from Florida to OSU, and why Urban protected him through a myriad of issues at OSU.

Given what we know today those decisions don’t make sense.  McMurphy is not a fool - he is trying to figure out why Urban protected Smith.

ijohnb

November 13th, 2018 at 11:37 AM ^

Disinterest.

Smith was part of a coaching staff that was providing excellent on field results.  Smith's antics were probably "irritants" to Meyer and nothing more.  I doubt very much that Meyer approved or approves of Smith, his antics, his behavior, etc., but Smith was delivering good performance from his position group and that was the end of Meyer's consideration of the matter.

If Smith had been convicted of domestic violence he would have been fired, not as a meaningful rebuke to his character of conduct but because the "side effects" of his employment would have become too distracting.  In other words, a conviction would have been "irritating enough" to Meyer that he would have fired him.  Everything else was just background noise.

I don't think anybody is going to find an intentional, deliberate "cover up" of any kind with regard to any of this Urban/OSU staff, or a "Nevin Shapiro" type deal with juicy details and tidbits.  I don't think they gave it that much thought.  I think they are just going to find that anything that did not directly impact on field performance was simply not that important and was consequently brushed aside.