It’s legitimate to focus on what Meyer may have done. But there’s also a rush to judgment based on perceptions about who he is.
No question about it: athletic administrators and coaches must pay attention to matters of social responsibility…or else. The #MeToo movement has contributed mightily to that outcome.
In this “new era,” as Marc Tracy of The New York Times calls it, winning isn’t everything and it certainly isn’t enough. Art Briles (Baylor), Hugh Freeze (Mississippi), and Rick Patino (Louisville)–winners all–show why.
It’s about time, too. “Winds of change are blowing in sports,” I wrote. “What’s causing it? Domestic assault. Child abuse. Infractions. Cheating.” I wrote those words in February 2015.
Courtesy: USAToday.com
But I think something different is happening to Urban Meyer at Ohio State. And happening to may be just the right way to express it.
I’m reading and hearing vitriol about Meyer coming from some of those who cover him, namely, from sports journalists.
For example, Dan Wolken’s column in USAToday (one of the first commentaries about the matter) was lathered with personal characterizations. “He (Meyer) alone is the creator of leaders and virtuous citizens.” Meyer is “the benevolent giver of second chances” and “the all-knowing arbiter of right and wrong.” Meyer is “sanctimonious” and has a “self-appointed sense of justice” with “a holier-than-thou image.”
Wolken ended his article this way: “But when you have an outsized view of your own sense of truth, it’s easy to believe in the mission you’re on over all else, including the humanity being wrecked right under your nose. It happened at Florida, where Meyer left a rotten locker room culture and a broken program. And with that belief in himself seemingly rising again above the truth that was right there in plain sight, history may be about to repeat itself.”
Wolken wasn’t alone. Paul Finebaum called Meyer “a fraud.” “When we’re talking about arrogance,” Finebaum said on First Take, “that seems to go hand in hand with Urban Meyer” (quote from 247Sports).
Zach Smith (photo, Cleveland.com)
There’s more. “As society has evolved, Meyer hasn’t” is the headline of an article written by ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. She chronicles various circumstances associated with Meyer’s tenure at Florida—the number of arrests (N=31) and how the current situation at OSU is symptomatic of what happened at UF.
Indeed, in 2009 Zach Smith–the recently-fired OSU coach who’s at the epicenter of the OSU storm–was arrested for allegedly throwing his then-pregnant wife against a wall. He was a Gators’ assistant coach at the time.
Smith and Meyer go back to 2002 when Smith played for Meyer at Bowling Green. Smith later served as an assistant on Meyer’s UF staff and then followed the coach to OSU. But perhaps the most important storyline in the relationship is Smith’s lineage. His grandfather, former OSU head coach Earle Bruce, gave Meyer his first job in college coaching (OSU grad assistant, 1986). So is part of this story about loyalty? Is Meyer honoring Earle Bruce for what Bruce did for him?
That’s just part of what makes this story very much about Meyer–even though the issue (spousal abuse) and a coach’s handling of it should be sufficient to hold the spotlight, including how Ohio State has handled issues like this in the past.
OSU has a history of dealing harshly with head coaches who have transgressed.
OSU is inarguably good at handling matters like this. One reason is that the university has experience across athletic administrations. Even today, the ‘Meyer issue’ isn’t the only athletics matter under investigation in Columbus. There’s also a sexual misconduct case that includes whether or not a then-assistant wrestling coach (and current Ohio U.S. Congressperson) knew about the misconduct.
But this story is still very much about Meyer, the person, including how the sports media feel about him. Does it really matter if he is self-absorbed, arrogant, or righteous? I think not. What really matters is whether he’s innocent or guilty.
If there is another story worth covering here, it’s the one Jason Gay (Wall Street Journal) addressed. Gay calls it “the God complex in college sports.’ It’s how we lionize these sports figures, making them larger than life. Fielty and its trappings can end up “being a disaster for everyone,” Gay contends.
At Penn State, a statue went up and a statue came down.
Ohio State football has seen this before. Woody Hayes (five national championships) hit a referee. Jim Tressel (2002 national championship, 8-time national coach of the year) took loyalty too far. Now it may be happening again. If so, it won’t be just a story about Urban Meyer (73-8 at OSU, 2014 national championship) or even a story about Ohio State. It will be a story about what happens, time and time again, in big-time college sports.
