Joseph Till
Sports Editor
Much to the disappointment of Ohio State fans, the university suspended their head coach, Urban Meyer, and athletic director, Gene Smith for more than two weeks.The suspension came after an investigation from the school that found both Meyer and Smith, “Failed to take sufficient management action relating to Zach Smith’s misconduct and retained an Assistant Coach who was not performing as an appropriate role model for OSU student-athletes,” a statement from the school said.
Zach Smith is the now ex-assistant Ohio State coach who was fired almost a month earlier, on July 23, for domestic abuse accusations that arose from 2015. Smith was hired in 2012 by both Gene Smith and Urban Meyer.When he was hired in 2012, Gene Smith was unaware of a 2009 incident where Zach Smith was arrested for a felony assault on his then-pregnant wife, Courtney Smith. The incident happened while Smith was working as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Florida under then- head coach, Urban Meyer. Meyer said he did know of that event at BigTen media days on July 24, and that he and his wife, Shelley, advised Zach and Courtney Smith to seek counseling. Although Meyer did talk openly about the 2009 incident, he reiterated the fact that he knew nothing about the 2015 information. Other things he mentioned at Big Ten media days was that Earle Bruce, the former Ohio State head coach from 1979-1987 and Zach Smith’s grandfather, was, “the strongest relationship,” he’d ever had other than his father. Smith also played for Urban Meyer when the coach was at Bowling Green. Besides those things and a criminal trespassing misdemeanor that was reported by ESPN’s Brett McMurphy three days before his firing, Meyer claims that Smith was fired because it was “the best decision for the team.”
Under these extenuating circumstances, the highest profiles connected to Ohio State’s athletics have crumbled when it comes to their overall knowledge and handling of this peculiar situation. Ohio State has been caught up in controversy before, but not for something like domestic abuse from a staff member in the middle of the #MeToo Movement where many high profile people across the country are losing their jobs from these types of allegations. Ohio State’s last head coach, Jim Tressel was given a five-game suspension following reports he knew of player involvement in NCAA violations. He resigned two months following the suspension.Those violations stemmed from players possibly receiving improper benefits from a local tattoo parlor. But, when it comes down to the wife and mother of a coach’s children getting beaten on multiple occasions by that same coach, the two men responsible for him are given a slap on a wrist with one not even getting suspended for more than two-and-half weeks.What does this say about an organization that made over $37 million from its football program last year and might be even better this season? That it values winning and the revenue from those wins over everything else. Ohio State has made their stance clear. After taking this investigation into their own hands, they’ll give two high-profile and handsomely paid men, who took multiple wrong steps in reporting and taking action involving questionable ethical behavior from an employee, with nothing more than a ‘don’t let it happen again’.
At the core of this firing and controversy are the young men involved.The coaches are supposed to be role models and demonstrate positive behaviors for their players.They should build up these players to be more than great athletes, but great members to society as well. How can this be done when we have certain people in power who refuse to take responsibility for their actions? In an interview following his suspension, Meyer reinstated that he has a strict, “zero-tolerance,” policy. If he did have such a policy, then Zach Smith would not have been on his coaching staff for as long as he was. Even if he had been adequately evaluated before being hired, questions about how his past could have come up and if he had taken the proper actions following those 2009 events. Depending on his answer then, and the answers that were given by both Urban Meyer and Gene Smith, maybe all this could have been avoided. Although that isn’t a guarantee, the missteps in their actions regarding these events have now been magnified and will forever be a part of their legacy. We must hold people in power to higher standards to show that one’s actions and behavior, no matter the time frame, have consequences.