Could Urban be FIRED?

[Gulo Blue]

I think the answer is obvious: they thought they could get away with it.

they thought the story wouldn't see the light of day.

They would otherwise be perfectly happy employing a guy who regularly beats and terrorizes his wife.

McMurphy's 1st story was posted 5am on the 23rd and I think OSU fired Smith of the 23rd. I suppose it's possible they fired him earlier and just told the press later, but it really looks like they fired him as soon as the news went public, without enough time to do any investigation in between.

 

[Michchamp]

Timelines are always helpful to illustrate these kinds of things and parse out who knew what and when they knew it. from there it's clear who bears responsibility for the wrongdoing.

I guess in this case it would start in 2009.

There's a year or two gap when Smith went elsewhere and Urban ran away from his Florida job.

They were both back in Columbus in 2012.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported on 9 calls or incidents to the police or involving the police from 2012-2016.

And of course you could look at the timestamps of the texts between Shelley Meyer and Courtney Smith and work those in.

I don't remember what happened after they divorced (2015?) but the harassment continued apparently right up until the present.

Urban denied he knew about the 2015 incident, but now admits he told the proper authorities, or whatever.

But then of course, Zach Smith coached at OSU during the 2016 & 2017 seasons. So he was employed for two full seasons after Urban and possibly everyone else there knew he was a serial wifebeater.

Then I suppose the timeline gets a lot more detailed in the last couple weeks... they said it was a personal matter, then the story dropped?, then they fired him, denied they knew about it, the story blew up, Urban was suspended, and them admitted he knew about it.

 

[Michchamp]

well, looks like the Sporting News made a timeline.

 

[Gulo Blue]

There's a guy claiming to be a lawyer posting a long post in various places arguing that McMurphy originally made a false claim about Smith being arrested in 2015, and that when Meyer lied about not knowing about the 2015 thing, he meant the arrest.


McMurphy did edit his post to remove the arrest claim, but the point that this guy is missing is that it's not all about that lie. Even if you buy that explanation, which I don't, it still leaves OSU keeping a guy on staff as issues pile up, trying to pretend the straw that broke the camel's back was the protection order and the timing of it, happening on the same day that it hit the press, was a coincidence.

 

[Michchamp]

There's a guy claiming to be a lawyer posting a long post in various places arguing that McMurphy originally made a false claim about Smith being arrested in 2015, and that when Meyer lied about not knowing about the 2015 thing, he meant the arrest.


McMurphy did edit his post to remove the arrest claim, but the point that this guy is missing is that it's not all about that lie. Even if you buy that explanation, which I don't, it still leaves OSU keeping a guy on staff as issues pile up, trying to pretend the straw that broke the camel's back was the protection order and the timing of it, happening on the same day that it hit the press, was a coincidence.

right.

but any corrections or minor misstatements are going to be blown up by OSU's PR dept and media machine, as well as anyone hired by them or Meyer to push their "side" of story. and any of these will be further amplified by OSU fans re-tweeting that.

I think in the end, it's going to come down to whether the OSU administration wants him gone. it certainly looks like they have solid grounds to fire him according to that clause in his contract. But I go back and forth on what the OSU administration wants here, whether they want Meyer gone, or want to back him.

That thing you posted in #134 of the reactions of other ADs around the conference could be telling; several seemed of the opinion they wanted him gone in order to protect the university. then again, they probably could've just consulted with their lawyers and fired him already.

I also wonder if the whole point of Meyer's post the other day was to signal to the administration there, that he would take them down with him, or try to, if they pinned this on him and fired him.

His post certainly didn't convince anyone; all the media reactions I read were pretty critical.

IF they do want him gone, the prospect of a messy lawsuit that might reveal something ugly, like that Gene Smith knew and approved of keeping him, would explain why they're going the slow methodical route.

Then again, maybe they're all on the same page here, and want to keep Meyer, and know that a show trial that exonerates him like this is the only way they get away with it.

But Meyer's post the other day was sloppy and looks like he did it of his own volition or with his own attorney's input... I can't image the OSU administration wanted the part about "reporting it to the proper channels at the time" or whatever in there. and if Meyer's shooting from the hip on his own like that, they can't all be on the same page...

Hmmm... Maybe they do want him gone?

 

[TheVictors]

All that remains to be answered is whether or not osu will take the relatively short term 'black eye' of keeping Meyer on while either scapegoating Gene Smith or simply 'punishing' Meyer with some form of self-induced suspension, etc.


Or if the school has enough pressure from folks who understand that a university exists beyond the football field on Saturdays in the fall. I don't expect the fanbase to do anything besides make excuses, defend Meyer and point fingers and Smith and others. Then again, as Bob Ufer said, those '25,000 signatures' in support of keeping Meyer may very well by truck drivers and bandwagon fans, having no other ties to the University.


You'd have to think even at osu there would be a sufficient number of faculty, staff, alumni and students upset with Meyer, the culture of the program and the multi-year cover up.




Agree with MC, I think it was assumed this story would never see the light of day and now that it has, this new M.O. of pointing the finger at others as a distraction is being used.

 

[Gulo Blue]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dj8qRXDX0AIqXtN.jpg
rally


https://twitter.com/Dan_Hope/status/1026590565901713409/video/1

 

[Michchamp]

uh... so judging from the looks of them Urban has the support of the "truck driver" portion of OSU's fanbase (to use Ufer's famous comment)

Jury is still out on what portion of the students support him.

I don't understand the logic on some of those signs... like even if Brett McMurphy is a bad reporter, Alabama plays a weak schedule, and ESPN are SEC Frauds (though I'm not sure what that even means), Urban Meyer knowingly employed a wifebeater for years.

 

[Gulo Blue]

uh... so judging from the looks of them Urban has the support of the "truck driver" portion of OSU's fanbase (to use Ufer's famous comment)

Jury is still out on what portion of the students support him.

I don't understand the logic on some of those signs... like even if Brett McMurphy is a bad reporter, Alabama plays a weak schedule, and ESPN are SEC Frauds (though I'm not sure what that even means), Urban Meyer knowingly employed a wifebeater for years.

...and they don't seem to be aware that ESPN fired McMurphy and has been relatively quiet on this.

 

[Michchamp]

...and they don't seem to be aware that ESPN fired McMurphy and has been relatively quiet on this.

Hey, ESPN just gave Zach Smith a nationwide platform to deny his wife's allegations. if anything these people there should be happy with espn.

 

[tinselwolverine]

uh... so judging from the looks of them Urban has the support of the "truck driver" portion of OSU's fanbase (to use Ufer's famous comment)

I don't get it.

There's another portion?

 

[thewolverines24]

Not much of a turn out at the white trash rally.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[tinselwolverine]

Not much of a turn out at the white trash rally.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

A FAKE NEWS banner managed to work its way into the pic/crowd.

 

[thewolverines24]

A FAKE NEWS banner managed to work its way into the pic/crowd.

Boy am I shocked.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[Michchamp]

I started reading that post on reddit from a guy who claims to be an attorney, and employs his legal training to pick out and rant ad nauseum about three places Brett McMurphy went back and changed in his story, all more or less related to whether Zach Smith was arrested in 2015.

Since the issue is really with Urban Meyer, this focus seems misplaced.

To wit:

This post has nothing to do with the victim, nor am I sticking up for Zach Smith -- at the least, the guy seems like a troubled guy with substance abuse problems from everything I've heard. Further, this is not a defense of Meyer, whether he followed proper Title IX protocol, etc. This is strictly about McMurphy's reporting and how it evolved over time without issuing standard corrections.​

Translation:

I can't openly defend the indefensible, but I want to, so let me change the subject long enough that we all forget how horrible Urban Meyer is.​

You see this a lot with people who try to defend Trump

 

[Michchamp]

so Zach Smith wasn't formally arrested... detained for questioning?

Knowingly free to go, but stayed and answered questions from the cops, who handled him with kid gloves since he was a football coach at an Ohio state university?

I get that if you're Zach Smith, this may be a material point, but there is still a mountain of evidence of your abusive history...

And the issue is really why did Urban keep this idiot on his staff and lie about it.

 

[thewolverines24]

so Zach Smith wasn't formally arrested... detained for questioning?

Knowingly free to go, but stayed and answered questions from the cops, who handled him with kid gloves since he was a football coach at an Ohio state university?

I get that if you're Zach Smith, this may be a material point, but there is still a mountain of evidence of your abusive history...

And the issue is really why did Urban keep this idiot on his staff and lie about it.

He definitely was arrested in 2009. We all know they changed his most recent arrest report for some reason. It originally said he was arrested and was edited to say he was not.

 

[Gulo Blue]

A FAKE NEWS banner managed to work its way into the pic/crowd.

Makes more sense than the "Me Too I support Urban Meyer" sign.

 

[Michchamp]

He definitely was arrested in 2009. We all know they changed his most recent arrest report for some reason. It originally said he was arrested and was edited to say he was not.

Yeah.

The Cleveland Dealer wrote there were 9 police reports from January 1, 2012 and July 26, 2018 related to domestic disputes between Smith and his wife (eventually ex wife). (link) they don't identify all 9, but apparently some were child custody disputes (presumably stuff like him not showing up to pick up kids when he says he will, or not returning them when he's supposed to). then these:

* A report from Oct. 21, 2015 indicates Courtney informed police that she felt she was being followed by someone in a black SUV, and shared she was having issues "with her soon to be ex-husband." That was the first mention of domestic issues found in the reports obtained by cleveland.com.

* Another report from Oct. 26, 2015 details Courtney Smith telling Powell police she wished to file a restraining order against her husband.

* There's a report from January 5, 2016 in which Courtney Smith was given a speeding warning. Smith shared that she was having domestic issues with her ex-husband that day, and that the City of Powell was aware of it. The report adds that she was crying and visibly upset.

* An incident on December 17, 2017 when Courtney reported neighbors seeing Zach looking through the windows of her home, the windows of her vehicle and banging on the door of her home at 1:30 a.m. No charges were filed from that incident, but Zach Smith was issued a trespass warning.​

she filed for divorce in or around November 2015.

if we're indicting Zach Smith, the police reports alone may not substantiate much more than a crime of trespass. and the part about someone following her, she apparently saw the guy and knew it wasn't Smith. so that can't be used against him. though it may or may not be worse if you think about it. if she wasn't randomly being stalked, then he was getting other people involved to intimidate her. and her getting pulled over for speeding and blaming him is just hearsay.

but this is about what Urban knew (and he definitely knew something), and why he kept Smith on his staff.

and that's why there's also the texts to Shelley meyer, including the ones with Zach Smith admitting to the abuse, and the pics of bruises and blood. and yeah, if he was doing this in 2009 and getting arrested for it, that sure doesn't look like an isolated incident or out of character.

I also know people who've gotten out of abusive relationships. the continuing issues with the ex-spouse is a clear sign of an abusive person, especially using the kids & custody fights to try to keep a measure of control over the ex-spouse.

I see the press wondering why Meyer kept him on staff after all the 2015 incidents, and that probably is the key time when this goes against Meyer's reputation. he could've fired him then and credibly argued he didn't condone his behavior. and that giving him a second chance in 2009 was out of a sincere belief he could turn it around. Now? Nope!

And the fact that Smith wasn't like an integral part of the staff makes it even worse... like he wasn't even weighing wins against Courtney Smith and her kids' well being... which is awful enough, but he wasn't weighing ANYTHING against it. He didn't give a shit.

 

[Gulo Blue]

Courtney Smith earlier said that OSU never reached out to her. Now, in their current investigation, they haven't talked to Zach Smith.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...io-state-urban-meyer-investigation/947858002/