Some additional information on group assigned to investigate Meyer, etc.
Group includes former Ohio House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, former acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Craig Morford and former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Carter Stewart, as well as trustees Alex Fischer, Janet Porter and Alex Shumate.
Breakdown: Six members. Two females, four males. Only one Alumnus (Porter). Three current trustees, three outside voices (though Porter was former trustee). Fairly broad distribution of backgrounds and accomplishments though I'd prefer to see equal distribution of female and male. Morford is a good member for the experience in institutional/organized corruption. Checks and balances - with the hopes of impartiality - feel appropriate and stands in contrast to how MSU has approached their issues (appointing and embedding more of 'their own').
Brief bios of 'outsiders' are below with links the 'insiders' (read: current trustees) at bottom.
Jo Ann Davidson: Former member of Ohio House of Representatives. Elected Speaker of Ohio House in 1995. She was the first woman to hold this position and remained as speaker until leaving the House of Representatives in 2001. She has served on the board of trustees of The Ohio State University, Franklin University, and the University of Findlay. Source.
Craig Morford: Hope College undergrad, Valparaiso Law. Morford spent most of his career as a federal prosecutor pursuing public-corruption and organized crime cases in Cleveland, Ohio. From 1996-2002, Morford prosecuted more than 70 cases resulting in the convictions of elected officials, law enforcement officers and mob figures in northern Ohio. Source.
Carter Stewart: "A graduate of Stanford University, Columbia University and Harvard Law School, previously worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in San Jose, Calif., where he prosecuted a variety of cases including drug and gun crimes, environmental crimes, and the illegal distribution of steroids to professional athletes. During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, he served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and chaired the Attorney General’s Child Exploitation Working Group and the Racial Disparities Working Group." Source.
Honestly I have family in cbus that coach at a local high school for the wrestling program, they help out some of the college athletic programs at times and have friendships with some of the wrestling coaches, they told me tomorrow afternoon too, but like you said could be total bullshit.
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:33 PM ^
Checks out. The Bobs advise that it’s better to fire someone on a Friday.
Also Dave Brandon's jam.
A late friday afternoon press conference to reach a quick conclusion before practices begin would make sense, timing-wise. Still think he weasels his way into a just a 3-4 game suspension though.
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:00 PM ^
Agree 100%
I think it's nearly impossible to announce a punishment like a 3-4 whatever game suspension with a pending investigation. He's not technically being punished now.
If there is a press conference, it will either be to announce Meyer is stepping down or that he's reinstated until the investigation is completed.
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:12 PM ^
Link to the post?
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:17 PM ^
Looks like the mods removed it.
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:23 PM ^
Sounds about right for 11Warriors
August 2nd, 2018 at 11:43 PM ^
My friends cousin teaches at Columbus and he was using the restroom earlier today and overheard someone from the AD talking to the VP of OSUs student life department saying they’ve already got the presser planned for Urban to step down . Sounded like it was going Be next Monday
August 3rd, 2018 at 12:32 AM ^
I'm going to upvote this because I think it's just excellent sarcasm. At least I hope so.
August 3rd, 2018 at 12:49 AM ^
Is this a cool story bro moment?
August 3rd, 2018 at 10:11 AM ^
That's sure a gender tolerant bathroom:
Javaune Adams-Gaston, PhDSenior Vice President for Student Life
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:41 PM ^
Where? I just combed through a few hundred comments about they’ll kick UM’s ass anyway and how you shouldn’t be able to get fired for what your employees do in their own free time...
I’m in the camp that expects a slap on the wrist, so I’d love to be proven wrong...
August 2nd, 2018 at 11:20 PM ^
Strangely enough, I would trust 11 Warriors to have the odd person "in the know" lurking about, but I would be shocked if tomorrow at this time we were talking about an Ohio State without Urban Meyer.
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:13 PM ^
Link to the post?
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:21 PM ^
For anyone who played CFBRisk, this is SouthernJeb, the Heismeme winner aka the best shitposter during CFBRisk. Had no idea he was a former Florida player, hilarious that he's the guy considering I'll I knew him for before this was as a shitposter.
August 2nd, 2018 at 11:46 PM ^
Reading his post history is fascinating.
How many hypocrites does it take to justify a scum bag? Wow, this is even worse than MSU's response. He should have been fired on the spot. This "response" is going to fry their ass combined with the suit on the wrestling MD who was a pervert and the diving sexual abuse scandal. How do these schools - MSU and OSU - look themselves in the mirror and not see failure? I guess money matters more than ethics, morales and leadership.
Michigan, Northwestern and Wisconsin should leave the B1G and join a more academic / student-athlete centric conference like the ACC.
Duke rape scandal. UNC academic fraud scandal. Louisville coach paying for strippers. Miami stripper and cocaine yacht. Then there's Syracuse. Florida State.
I...do not want anything to do with the ACC.
OK good points, maybe we just go independent. We could have our own Wolverine Network and not have to share shit with all these dirt bags. Especially that Delany guy who has created this B1G culture of low morales, questionable ethics and lack of leadership.
All of those pale in comparison to the disgusting shit that has been revealed about PSU, OSU and MSU in the past decade
I don't disagree.
I say we just abandon the sports and become UofC. Just kidding. Thought crossed my mind though. Sick of being in B1G and the commissioner does nothing with these universities. May be become independent.
August 2nd, 2018 at 11:26 PM ^
I wouldn't lump the Duke case in there, given that it turned out the woman lied about the entire thing.
Everything else I'm on board with. Every conference has its warts.
August 3rd, 2018 at 12:01 AM ^
one of these things is not like the other...one of these things doesn’t belong
"Worse than MSU's response."
That there is a tip-off that you're not being reasonable. MSU continues to obfuscate and drag its feet many months on (btw, are you talking about the football and basketball issues, or the Nassar situation that after much waffling resulted in the defenestration of the president of the school?).
He shouldn't be fired on the spot because the school actually does have an obligation to investigate the facts before it fires someone. Remember, the key details that make this fireable weren't revealed until yesterday morning. It hasn't even been 48 hours yet, this is a bureacracy, it's a huge decision, it takes time.
If they hem and haw and do nothing, then you can draw conclusions. But it's stupid to act like they're doing this wrong when it's this early.
OSU lacks leadership. This board is a complete cop-out. Man-up and own this decision. They are more worried about their f-ing football program than the rights of the abused individual. Call me old fashioned, but that is not where my morals are. The right of the individual is far greater than any giant political body like a university. This is America not some fascist state. Where is Courtney's "board" of experts to protect her interests?
How do you know it's a complete cop-out? What is its job? What work will they do? What inside information do you have?
If you ask me, they've learned from the disaster that is the MSU board that they need some neutral people outside of the existing administration to do things right.
It seems likely that literally anything other than a knee-jerk firing would be something you would criticize, whether it was actually worthy of the criticism or not.
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:24 PM ^
Dude - the text message with photos is concrete evidence with an acknowledgement that the abuse occured - it is totally black and white. And the Meyers did NOTHING to protect her rights as an abused indivdual. Who needs a committee to read those text message and verify the accuracy? This is about morales and ethics - protecting the human rights of an individual - not some criminal investigation. OSU should be ashamed.
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:27 PM ^
What's your proof that Meyer saw the text?
Like I said, I believe he knew. But you don't have any evidence that he saw those pictures. Those pictures are evidence that the abuse occurred, they say nothing about Urban's involvement in it.
August 2nd, 2018 at 11:19 PM ^
The text messages are the smoking gun. So no one on his staff and his "soul mate" wife ever divulged the text messages and photos ? Wow is hard to beleive and even worse for OSU. No one in the program is allowed to tell the boss about Title IX violations ? Yikes - that is a morally corrupt program. Who needs an f-ing board to call that. OSU should be ashamed it can't have the nuts (npi) to take a stand.
August 2nd, 2018 at 11:49 PM ^
I agree, it's hard to believe. But in the land of state-funded big business, which is what OSU is, and in the land of multi-million dollar contracts in a multi-billion dollar sport, "hard to believe" isn't grounds for firing.
So they need to ask questions. They need to grill Urban about what he knew and didn't knew. And then they need to grill Shelley, and the other coaches and their wives. They need to ask precise questions and take care not to legally overstep their bounds. If Urban denies knowledge, they need to translate that "hard to believe" into evidence that he is not telling the truth. If he acknowledges some things, they need evidence to corroborate the limit of what he knew. And if they fire him, they need to do so in a way that insulates them from an expensive wrongful termination lawsuit.
You know who would be good at doing those things? Lawyers. Like, specifically, experienced prosecutors and lawyers that work with corporations to deal with this sort of thing.
And that's who they have brought in.
Now, I don't know if these lawyers will do what I have described, but if the board wanted what I described done, they would hire people like who they have hired. If they're just building a plausible cover to retain this expensive and successful football coach, we'll learn that soon enough. There will be time to criticize them for it then.
August 3rd, 2018 at 12:02 AM ^
Lawyers suck. OSU leadership needs to assert reality. This is so black and white they look like dumbshits. Typical OSU denial. Same shit happened on Tressel. When will they learn - time to fire their AD.
August 3rd, 2018 at 11:39 AM ^
You represent what was, and probably always will be, the worst part about MGoBlog (and ElevenWarriors, and Bucknuts, and RCMB). The "sportstalk radio" element. Rabid, dumb sports fans.
btw: It's Urban Meyer, not "Meyers."
Why should have he been fired on the spot? Why are you so certain you know everything? I actually think OSU has responded appropriately so far.
August 2nd, 2018 at 11:27 PM ^
Text messages, photos and direct acknowledgement of her abuse by an OSU coach in emails with Ohio State University employees. Folks it is black and white. Urban Meyer is in charge and should be fired tomorrow. Who needs some board to connect those dots?
First of all, Meyer is ultimately a state employee and has a right to some due process before he is terminated.
Second, Meyer has a huge contract and if OSU fires him without good cause they will be on the hook for millions of dollars in future salary.
Third, while there is extensive evidence that Meyer knew of Zach Smith's abusive behavior and failed to take the actions required by university policy to address it, there are also plenty of unknowns. For instance, we don't know exactly when Meyer became aware of Smith's post-2009 abuse, or how he found out, or what (if any) steps he did take to address the conduct. Part of the reason we don't know is because Meyer denied being told about the abuse at Big Ten media days--which now appears to have been an obvious falsehood. But the point remains that there are many unanswered questions here and it's prudent for OSU to investigate them and try and put together a more complete picture of what happened before coming to a final decision.
Fourth, what's the rush? Meyer is already on administrative leave, so he isn't coaching the team and isn't in a position to commit additional wrongdoings.
"Meyer has a huge contract and if OSU fires him without good cause they will be on the hook for millions of dollars in future salary." This is true and I don't know much about title IX, but doesn't failure to take appropriate action under Title IX, open OSU up to loss of potential governmental $ which could dwarf Meyer's contract? So, if the opposite is true and they don't fire hire when they should have, they are not risk free.
"Fired on the spot" would be completely irresponsible. To the point that anyone who tried it should be fired.
If you are going to fire someone with a $50 million contract, you bring in lawyers and follow a process.
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/faculty/professor/carter-stewart/
the one guy teaches / taught at OSU
looks like an internal investigation like they did in Sparty-land to me
Good catch. However, possibly no allegiance to football. Hopefully. Maybe.
Would MSU let its faculty have a say in any issue in their AD? Not a chance. They have been vocal in their opposition to how Engler is handling the issues there. It's pretty typical for faculty to resent the favoritism shown athletic departments.
What in God's name is there to investigate? Unless there's a whole lot more to this story this looks like nothing but window dressing to give the appearance of due diligence.
There's a lot to investigate. They need to ask Urban if he knew in 2015. Then, if he denies, they need to interview other people to corroborate or refute. These interviews need to be carefully done, and lawyers are involved. Many questions will be vetted in advance. Urban's wife is on the spot here, as well as other coaches and their wives. Of course, Courtney Smith will need to be interviewed, and her ex-husband probably will be, as well.
Further, other evidence has to be investigated. The junk in the victim-blaming post might just be junk posted by a pro-Urban liar, but if the Meyer camp has any involvement, that will be brought up in the investigation, and it needs to be looked into.
If Urban steps soon as a couple of rumors suggest (I'm doubtful, personally) then all of this will be cut short. But then that means that the victim-blaming stuff isn't a concerted effort of his camp to hold his position.
These things take time. Note that OSU just established a full committee to investigate this today--and that's pretty quick in bureaucratic terms. Now those people need to start collecting the evidence and data, to understand the storyline from start to finish. 9 years of storyline. Every event. Every allegation. Every piece of information.
Or Urban can resign and save them the trouble.
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:01 PM ^
All your points are 100% spot on. I wonder though if the assistant coaches and wives would circle the wagons for Meyer when interviewed.
I don't see how any reasonable person could think that he didn't know and that he didn't lie at the BTN media day.
Also, to keep Meyer could be a lead weight for OSU. Bad PR, protests where he goes at least for a short time, a bit harder recruiting as he supposedly sold moms on his zero tolerance for disrespect against women, etc...
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:03 PM ^
Come on - there are text messages from Urban's wife achnowleging the abuse with photos. It happened and they did nothing. This isn't some criminal process. This is about morals and ethics. OSU needs to show better leadership than this pathetic commercial response. An individual's human rights were violated and their employees with knowledge of it did NOTHING.
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:08 PM ^
What's the proof that Meyer knew? Name it.
We all believe that he knew, but our belief is not sufficient grounds to fire someone.
Good news: The stuff you didn't read--you know, the bios of the people on this committee you're prima facie dismissing--describes the people brought on as solid folks. You know, prosecuting attorneys. They actually know how to unravel this stuff. Whether they do it is an open question, but it's a start.
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:24 PM ^
I generally would agree with your well thought points. In this case, why would they have a panel to investigate? Did they extend the same courtesy to Zach? Meyer is special? He is just another employee of the university. I am not saying he should be fired on the spot but this panel thing grinds me. Due diligence is fine if it is done consistently. They are picking and choosing when they want to do it.
August 2nd, 2018 at 10:38 PM ^
Depends on what the panel does. For one, Meyer is a pretty important employee. If he's exonerated, you want pretty clear evidence that he is not culpable. If you are going to fire him, you want to make sure you've checked all the boxes.
Plus there is serious potential fallout from this. Civil liability, Title IX, and, yes, issues throughout the athletic department. One of the things they should be checking out (I have no idea if they will, just that they should) is if other people in the athletic department were aware. Does the athletic director also need to go? People quickly say, "yes," but if Urban knew and legitimately kept it from going up the chain, that's more reason to fire him but also reason to exonerate others. Remember, this is the kind of thing that isn't happening at MSU; if this committee actually checks into this stuff, they're going way further than MSU did.
You get a panel that is: 1. Qualified to do this sort of thing. One of those attorneys has considerable experience prosecuting higher-level stuff, including successful prosecution of political scandals on both sides of the aisle. 2. Not ethically compromised. The MSU board is clearly not impartial; OSU seems to be bringing in some people who aren't financially benefiting from the university right now to get some balance.
This is substantially different from how MSU did things. Lou Anna Simon almost stayed on because the MSU trustees were mostly friends & fans of hers. They've got compromised insiders pulling all the strings. OSU is at least appearing to try something different.