Growing up in Nebraska and now residing near Columbus, Ohio, I've been around my fair share of homers. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a homer is basically an individual who regularly showcases blind loyalty to a particular team or organization, ignoring their flaws along the way. In Nebraska, there's really only one team in the state and that's the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. Due to that, it seemed as though 95% of the state bled red and white (Nebraska's team colors) 365 days a year. While this significant level of homerism got aggravating after a while, I don't think it was nearly as annoying as the homerism I've witnessed here in central Ohio. I find that odd, for there are many more teams to root for in the state, such as the: Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Bengals, Columbus Blue Jackets, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Browns, just to name a few. Yet, for 365 days a year, it seems as though 95% of Ohio bleeds scarlet and grey (Ohio State's team colors). Not only that, but while Nebraska fans have had the reputation of being hospitable to the opposition and their fans, that hasn't exactly been the case for Buckeyes fans. As a matter of fact, while I've remained neutral on Ohio State athletics since moving here approximately 10 years ago, the seemingly constant nastiness of Buckeyes' fans has left me pulling for their opponents most weeks. That homerism and nastiness reached a head this past week after Buckeyes head football coach Urban Meyer got suspended for the first 3 games of the coming season due to his actions (or inactions) with regard to his then wide receiver coach Zach Smith, who has reportedly had numerous off-the-field incidents which have required legal attention, including at least two cases of domestic violence.
I was actually at a local bar when the suspension was announced. While there were a few people who seemed to think the 3-game suspension was just a slap on the wrist, a rather large majority felt no suspension was warranted, victim-blaming Zach Smith's ex-wife, Courtney Smith, in the process.
Let's get something straight, Urban Meyer is an incredible college football coach. He's one of the top two coaches in the game today (along with Nick Saban) and is arguably one of the best coaches of all-time. It's hard to debate the guy's winning percentage (.851, good for 7th all-time). However, when it comes right down to it, for as much as I love football, it's just a game. There's more to life than extending an oval-shaped ball made of pigskin over a white line more times than your opponent over the course of 60 minutes. Having said that, while Urban Meyer should be allowed to coach again, he should no longer be coaching for the Ohio State Buckeyes. The 3-game suspension isn't even a slap on the wrist. Slaps on the wrist don't typically result in the person still earning $4.5 million over the next year. Meyer can speak ignorance all he wants, but the timeline and investigative report all point to one thing - Urban Meyer was part of the cover-up. Here's a condensed version of said timeline:
6/21/09: Zach Smith is arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault against his wife, allegedly grabbing a pregnant Courtney Smith by the neck and pushing her up against a wall.
2012: Zach Smith gets hired as Ohio State's wide receivers coach.
10/25-26/15: Courtney Smith alleges her estranged husband abused her multiple times and provides police with photographs she took in 2014, where it appears as though her neck and arms are injured.
12/19/17: Zach Smith is provided a criminal trespass warning after harassing Courtney at her residence.
5/12/18: Zach Smith is provided with a misdemeanor criminal trespass, violating a 2015 warning he was given.
7/20/18: Courtney Smith is granted an order of protection against her now ex-husband, which prevents him from coming within 500 yards of her.
In addition to all this, it's been reported that Courtney Smith exchanged text messages with Urban Meyer's wife, Shelley, informing her of Zach's abuse. Texts exchanged between Zach and Courtney Smith appeared to show Zach apologizing for the abusive incidents. It's also been alleged that Zach Smith: took sexually suggestive photos of himself with a staff member in the Ohio State coaches' offices; took dick pics of himself inside the White House; and purchased over $2,000 worth of sex toys, male apparel and photography equipment in the first half of 2015. He's also alleged to have had a drinking problem, which at times interfered with his coaching and recruiting ability.
Urban Meyer's account has changed more times in the past few weeks than a chameleon during the fall. He didn't know anything. Okay, well, he did know something, but reported it to the proper authorities. He and his wife are extraordinarily close and tell each other everything. Oh, but she didn't tell him about the texts Courtney Smith sent her regarding an abusive husband whom worked for her husband's team. Speaking of texts, it's now being reported that Urban Meyer asked and successfully followed through deleting texts over a year old, likely concerning the Zach Smith situation. He appeared ho-hum when speaking on Wednesday after his suspension was laid before him, not exhibiting any sense of sympathy for Courtney Smith or remorse for his actions/inactions. Due to excessive backlash, he posted an apology via Twitter for his lack of an apology the previous day. The man has been in desperate-attempt-to-spare-my-reputation mode since the atrocious presser on Wednesday. Since then, he's contended that he's "grown," adding if he ever learned that a member of his team beat a woman, they'd be kicked out the door. Of course, that point is moot, as he employed and continued to employ Zach Smith, even after he took such horrific actions on multiple occasions.
Look, Urban Meyer is a great coach; there is no question about it, but the man consistently enabled a domestic abuser for several years before he got caught. For that, while he should be given another chance to coach in the future, the man should no longer be coach at The Ohio State University. Football may be fun, bring people together, and provide great memories for many, but there are things far more important than such a game - like a woman's life. Some say winning is everything, but winning is nothing if you lose everything.
http://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/zach-smith-urban-meyer-timeline-domestic-violence-allegations-ohio-state-florida-courtney-smith-ex-wife/qdgwf1d3j9n41skbguxgqsql0
I was actually at a local bar when the suspension was announced. While there were a few people who seemed to think the 3-game suspension was just a slap on the wrist, a rather large majority felt no suspension was warranted, victim-blaming Zach Smith's ex-wife, Courtney Smith, in the process.
Let's get something straight, Urban Meyer is an incredible college football coach. He's one of the top two coaches in the game today (along with Nick Saban) and is arguably one of the best coaches of all-time. It's hard to debate the guy's winning percentage (.851, good for 7th all-time). However, when it comes right down to it, for as much as I love football, it's just a game. There's more to life than extending an oval-shaped ball made of pigskin over a white line more times than your opponent over the course of 60 minutes. Having said that, while Urban Meyer should be allowed to coach again, he should no longer be coaching for the Ohio State Buckeyes. The 3-game suspension isn't even a slap on the wrist. Slaps on the wrist don't typically result in the person still earning $4.5 million over the next year. Meyer can speak ignorance all he wants, but the timeline and investigative report all point to one thing - Urban Meyer was part of the cover-up. Here's a condensed version of said timeline:
6/21/09: Zach Smith is arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault against his wife, allegedly grabbing a pregnant Courtney Smith by the neck and pushing her up against a wall.
2012: Zach Smith gets hired as Ohio State's wide receivers coach.
10/25-26/15: Courtney Smith alleges her estranged husband abused her multiple times and provides police with photographs she took in 2014, where it appears as though her neck and arms are injured.
12/19/17: Zach Smith is provided a criminal trespass warning after harassing Courtney at her residence.
5/12/18: Zach Smith is provided with a misdemeanor criminal trespass, violating a 2015 warning he was given.
7/20/18: Courtney Smith is granted an order of protection against her now ex-husband, which prevents him from coming within 500 yards of her.
In addition to all this, it's been reported that Courtney Smith exchanged text messages with Urban Meyer's wife, Shelley, informing her of Zach's abuse. Texts exchanged between Zach and Courtney Smith appeared to show Zach apologizing for the abusive incidents. It's also been alleged that Zach Smith: took sexually suggestive photos of himself with a staff member in the Ohio State coaches' offices; took dick pics of himself inside the White House; and purchased over $2,000 worth of sex toys, male apparel and photography equipment in the first half of 2015. He's also alleged to have had a drinking problem, which at times interfered with his coaching and recruiting ability.
Urban Meyer's account has changed more times in the past few weeks than a chameleon during the fall. He didn't know anything. Okay, well, he did know something, but reported it to the proper authorities. He and his wife are extraordinarily close and tell each other everything. Oh, but she didn't tell him about the texts Courtney Smith sent her regarding an abusive husband whom worked for her husband's team. Speaking of texts, it's now being reported that Urban Meyer asked and successfully followed through deleting texts over a year old, likely concerning the Zach Smith situation. He appeared ho-hum when speaking on Wednesday after his suspension was laid before him, not exhibiting any sense of sympathy for Courtney Smith or remorse for his actions/inactions. Due to excessive backlash, he posted an apology via Twitter for his lack of an apology the previous day. The man has been in desperate-attempt-to-spare-my-reputation mode since the atrocious presser on Wednesday. Since then, he's contended that he's "grown," adding if he ever learned that a member of his team beat a woman, they'd be kicked out the door. Of course, that point is moot, as he employed and continued to employ Zach Smith, even after he took such horrific actions on multiple occasions.
Look, Urban Meyer is a great coach; there is no question about it, but the man consistently enabled a domestic abuser for several years before he got caught. For that, while he should be given another chance to coach in the future, the man should no longer be coach at The Ohio State University. Football may be fun, bring people together, and provide great memories for many, but there are things far more important than such a game - like a woman's life. Some say winning is everything, but winning is nothing if you lose everything.
http://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/zach-smith-urban-meyer-timeline-domestic-violence-allegations-ohio-state-florida-courtney-smith-ex-wife/qdgwf1d3j9n41skbguxgqsql0
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