Concerns an Ohio State WR Coach's domestic violence and Urban's turning a deaf ear towards it and recently lying about it at Media Day.
A pretty well-put together piece of journalism by Brett McMurphy (ESPN), IMO.
Will be interesting to see if Urban survives this. Have a read.
Brett McMurphy post - (
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recruiting class is going to be decimated. Love it.
Come play for Greg Schiano!
What bothers me a bit in these situations is the need to cause as much collateral damage as possible. I saw several interviews with the wife and she seems to be more upset with Meyer than the guy that was reportedly assaulting her.
She even said something along the lines that this was his fault and he could've stopped it.
No. Meyer couldn't have stopped it. He could've fired the assistant and reported him to police, but not only had the actions already happened, they could've escalated as the assistant comes home from getting canned and beats the shit out of her.
I get the moral obligation from Meyer, but I doubt the woman is asking for her family members who she may have told about the abuse to lose their livelihoods for not doing anything. This continued search for villains seems to be escalating.
Is it possible Meyer's wife knew about it and didn't tell her husband? Sure...
Was it likely? No....
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it's official. Administrative leave - ( New Window )
IDK ... why is Meyer in trouble - because he might of had knowledge about an incident between 2 people who may have wanted to keep it private? There is a lot worse than that out there among the college ranks. What am I missing?
Its also because two of Meyer's closest friends – Hiram de Fries and Earle Bruce – asked her to drop the charges. Bruce is Zach Smith's grandfather, de Fries is Meyer's "life coach."
What this means then, is that a life coach (employee) and mentor of Urban ACTIVELY DISCOURAGED AN ABUSE VICTIM. These are people intricately linked to Ohio State suppressing this. The university cannot have that stain on its hands.
You can't tell me these two knew about what was happening and Urban didn't. There is no reality that it could happen.
This can't be overstated. De Fries and Bruce could definitely be charged with a crime. Urban could potentially be prosecuted as well, depending on how far De Fries and Bruce were willing to go to keep themselves out of trouble.
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recruiting class is going to be decimated. Love it.
I wonder if players can transfer without sitting now. Kind of like some of the ole miss players.
They're not getting a bowl ban or NCAA violations which allowed for that situation to happen. But the desperation from each of you, hoping to finally have a chance to beat Ohio State, is hilarious.
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In comment 14027284 Jon in NYC said:
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recruiting class is going to be decimated. Love it.
I wonder if players can transfer without sitting now. Kind of like some of the ole miss players.
They're not getting a bowl ban or NCAA violations which allowed for that situation to happen. But the desperation from each of you, hoping to finally have a chance to beat Ohio State, is hilarious.
I am sorry. Michigan has it shared of struggles with bad coaches and development after Carr... but I guess supporting coaches who break NCAA violations and title IX is something to be proud of?
Only commenting on the hilarity and desperation of rival fan bases reveling in this, hoping this will finally give them a chance to gain dominance over Ohio State. Here's a hint, it won't.
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In comment 14027208 short lease said:
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it's official. Administrative leave - ( New Window )
IDK ... why is Meyer in trouble - because he might of had knowledge about an incident between 2 people who may have wanted to keep it private? There is a lot worse than that out there among the college ranks. What am I missing?
Its also because two of Meyer's closest friends – Hiram de Fries and Earle Bruce – asked her to drop the charges. Bruce is Zach Smith's grandfather, de Fries is Meyer's "life coach."
What this means then, is that a life coach (employee) and mentor of Urban ACTIVELY DISCOURAGED AN ABUSE VICTIM. These are people intricately linked to Ohio State suppressing this. The university cannot have that stain on its hands.
You can't tell me these two knew about what was happening and Urban didn't. There is no reality that it could happen.
This can't be overstated. De Fries and Bruce could definitely be charged with a crime. Urban could potentially be prosecuted as well, depending on how far De Fries and Bruce were willing to go to keep themselves out of trouble.
These were the 2009 charges at Florida, when those two got involved, which Urban said he was aware of.
Ultimately this comes down to loyalty to Earle Bruce, Urban's mentor. Zach Smith was a very average coach who was in the position he was in because of his grandfather. This isn't like covering up for the star QB to make sure the team wins. Zach, if anything, was a detriment to winning. But he skated by and had incidents covered up likely because of the affection felt for his grandfather. It was a horrendous oversight on the part of leadership
I'm sure you said this when Tress left too
Please?
Only commenting on the hilarity and desperation of rival fan bases reveling in this, hoping this will finally give them a chance to gain dominance over Ohio State. Here's a hint, it won't.
Lol sure it will. Urban is a great coach and a fucking scumbag. If you think OSU won’t take a step back because of this you’re delusional.
When it comes to employers and abuse, there is virtually no leeway in letting things resolve themselves. Where I work, if someone came to me and told me that she was assaulted or harassed by another employee, I have to report it even if she asks me not to. If I don't, I can lose my job.
Even if he didn't lie about it, if he knew and did nothing he may have violated his contract and put the university at risk which would be enough to get him fired.
When it comes to employers and abuse, there is virtually no leeway in letting things resolve themselves. Where I work, if someone came to me and told me that she was assaulted or harassed by another employee, I have to report it even if she asks me not to. If I don't, I can lose my job.
Even if he didn't lie about it, if he knew and did nothing he may have violated his contract and put the university at risk which would be enough to get him fired.
It also looks like his 2 goons tried to stop her from reporting it as well.
Kyle in NY : 12:17 pm : link : reply
but declined to press charges each time. Apparently her own family recommended she not press charges which is just strange
There are many people along the way that could've stepped in, including her family. But the point of the stories today and her own comments were that Meyer could've stopped things a long time ago and she blames him.
I'm no Meyer fan. The guy has been phony from the get-go with his fake-Christian shit and the numerous criminals he's helped on his teams (not to mention a lot of shady recruiting).
I just don't like where an event happens and large swaths of people get blamed.
I'm sure they will find a good coach to replace him next off-season, but they'll have a hard time finding a Meyer level coach.
How could Ohio State ever justify bringing him back at this point?
As to Ohio State/Michigan, on what planet is this a first down??
Now obviously if Shelly knew the extent of it, there's virtually no chance Urban didn't know. Which is why I wish he'd just come out and been honest about it last week. They had to know the ex-wife was out there possibly ready to talk.
But without direct evidence, there is a way for him to come back. Shelly could take the fall and maybe say she didn't tell Urban the full details. A lot of people failed this woman, including those closest to her. It's an awful situation.
Not a single part of his body is across that line.
Michigan's coach may be a wierdo about eating chicken but last I checked he doesn't have a wife beater on his staff.
**ducks**
Add in all of the other shady shit that has followed him, and you just can't justify ever bringing him back. He doesn't deserve any benefit of the doubt
Are we going on whether or not the guy has a white tank top on swilling beer?
Add in all of the other shady shit that has followed him, and you just can't justify ever bringing him back. He doesn't deserve any benefit of the doubt
Are you firing him for keeping Smith on the staff or because he wasn't honest about it last week? I agree there's no way he didn't know. But if he goes, it's because of the attempted cover up, in my opinion.
**ducks**
The first post on this thread I think every rational person can agree with.
If he knew about the alleged abuse and did not report it immediately, I think he is in violation of the contract and that alone is a fireable offense. He is only ok if he can show he fired him and/or reported it as soon as he found out.
General dishonesty is in the DNA of big money college sports. Apparently asking a big time college head coach to not try to cover up some element of wrongdoing goes against every instinct.
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because I truly believe that if he comes out after firing him and says something along the lines of that he shouldn't have kept him this long, he made a mistake, he's sorry, then he still gets a lot of heat and looks bad but it never goes this far. I don't think it was a fireable offense on its own until he lied about it. Now, anything can happen
If he knew about the alleged abuse and did not report it immediately, I think he is in violation of the contract and that alone is a fireable offense. He is only ok if he can show he fired him and/or reported it as soon as he found out.
It WAS reported to the police, by the wife. There were multiple reports of the police responding to the house for incidents. That's what McMurphy originally found. She declined to press charges each time. Then she goes to Shelly and presumably Urban in 2015. The police are aware, I'm guessing the AD is aware, and Urban is aware of the situation. If she's not pressing charges, then what is there to report? It's already been reported to the police.
Now at this point he's got to be fired. And Urban is guilty of keeping this scumbag on his staff after that, for whatever reason, likely loyalty to his grandfather. But if she's not pressing charges, what can he do besides fire him? Which also doesn't solve really solve the situation. It just gets him away from the players and the university. She's still dealing with this guy but that's not Urban's respnsibility
This is sort of jumping off what FMiC said earlier. If he's fired, it's for lying about it last week. Because if he jsut explains the situation above and admitted his mistake, he gets flak but it likely passes by the time camp starts.
His contract requires that he report it to the university so that they can protect themselves legally. He didn't do that, so put them at legal risk. I have no way of knowing for sure, but I am guessing there is nothing in there saying you don't have to report it if she doesn't press charges.
If he was aware of abuse and was legally required to report it to Smith and the admin and he did not do that, I don't see how he isn't fired.
Alas, we live in an environment where anyone of fame is guilty until proven innocent. So many things are inside out these days...
The mob mentality takes down anyone associated with events now. They play moral judge and jury with real impact to people in the spotlight.
I look at the Larry Nassar situation. Terrible man. Monster. But the fallout of his arrest made it seem like people not only turned a blind eye, but protected him from prosecution. There are certainly innocent people who had no idea what was happening that lost a job or position. Over 60 people were fired or forced to resign in his wake.
I don't know if we'll see this type of thing abide though.
The part I cringe at is that oftentimes the people accused of not coming forward are often looked at as worse as the person who is doing the actual abuse. at least in the public's eye.
But this one I don't think is the same case. Meyer is in trouble with him employer for exposing them to risk. I don't think anyone is really arguing that he somehow enabled the abuse. At least I am not. I think is problem is that he owed it to his employers to let them know if there was a problem, and he simply didn't do it.
I don't think simply having the knowledge should be a tipping point though, especially if it was fairly well known that events had happened with the police being called and an arrest being made that surely was visible to the police and the greater community.
Meyer is only opening up the university to risk if he keeps a known abuser employed while the rest of the university, including the AD is in the dark.
What ultimately should seal his fate is if he lied. Then it goes from a passive event to one that he's triggered.
The mob mentality takes down anyone associated with events now. They play moral judge and jury with real impact to people in the spotlight.
I look at the Larry Nassar situation. Terrible man. Monster. But the fallout of his arrest made it seem like people not only turned a blind eye, but protected him from prosecution. There are certainly innocent people who had no idea what was happening that lost a job or position. Over 60 people were fired or forced to resign in his wake.
I don't know if we'll see this type of thing abide though.
The part I cringe at is that oftentimes the people accused of not coming forward are often looked at as worse as the person who is doing the actual abuse. at least in the public's eye.
I agree with your last point.
In terms of innocent people getting screwed b/c of the actions of a few, that's nothing new, look at Bear Stearns or Enron for starters.
Like all things in life there is some discretion. If the coach had been shooting up the campus and it was being covered by CNN surely every employee does not run to HR to report it. But I also think that simply relying on your superiors to be aware of gossip or local police blotters is a harder position to defend. Fortunately Urban has deep pockets and can hire some good lawyers to make that argument if he likes. But honestly he will probably just negotiate a settlement, step down, and not speak about it again.
It doesn't seem like a nuanced issue to me. If he knew, and claimed he didn't, but also didn't report it, that's not mob justice. That's getting fired for cause.
Anyone who believes he shouldn't be fired at this point should be slapped silly.
That statement today was the biggest joke I have ever seen.
Ohio State should have fired him the second he released that statement.