Monday saw Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer hold his first press briefing since he finished serving the three game suspension handed to him by the University. He was suspended due to his mishandling of the domestic abuse allegations leveled against now former assistant coach Zach Smith, who has had a working relationship with Meyer since 2002.
When Meyer took to the podium, he did the same thing that he’s been doing every single time he’s discussed the Zach Smith fiasco- making things worse for himself and his employer- the Ohio State University. Meyer has dug himself a hole, and his way of trying to get out of it is by digging further.
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/1041748503343448064
It might not be ignorance, but instead hubris at work here. As long as Ohio State remains a leading contender for the college football playoff, as all the bookies currently have them, Meyer is not in danger of further repercussions from the school. The Buckeyes, currently ranked #4 in the latest AP poll, also have the fourth best national title odds (behind Alabama, Clemson and Georgia) on most boards at most sports books.
OSU has shown us, during this entire dark and twisted saga, is that they value winning above all else. Meyer got a slap on the wrist punishment for his malfeasant inaction, a three game suspension (two of the games were just essentially glorified preseason scrimmages that featured the Buckeyes as massive favorites).
What’s truly frightening though, is the fact that just about every other big time college football program, with a national championship winning coach at the helm, wouldn’t act much better.
It’s sad, but true. The large land grant institution in Columbus is letting their judgment be severely impaired by that shiny 2014 college football playoff trophy they possess and their knowledge that Urban Meyer has a very realistic chance of delivering them another one in January. Perhaps this is what is truly inside Meyer’s head right now, and that’s why he keeps talking at every juncture where he should just keep quiet.
With every new tweet, press release and botched media opportunity, you can no longer describe him as just tone deaf anymore. It’s a very serious issue, and every time Meyer discusses it, he looks all the more utterly clueless about the gravity of the situation. Perhaps he’s so confident in his job security that he doesn’t feel the need for any further introspection and critical thinking.
What Urban Meyer really needs to do right now, is what he should have done in August when this story broke.
He must admit that he should have fired Smith in 2015, admit he lied at Big Ten Media Days, apologize to Courtney Smith, and reaffirm his commitment to respecting and honoring women as a priority value in the Ohio State football program.
Why he can’t seem to figure that out is a real mystery, and until he does this story won’t be going away.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud and YouTube. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to any and all of his.