Urban Meyer, which sounds a bit like a furniture and appliance store, is Ohio State’s head football coach. Mr. Meyer has been suspended pending a 14-day investigation into what Mr. Meyer knew about the domestic abuse incidents by a former assistant coach some years back. The abuse was an ongoing problem.
Mr. Meyer began his career Illinois State, trotted through Colorado State and then on to Notre Dame. The young man went to Utah and put them on the sports maps, and then on to Florida where he gathered 3 national championships, an amazing record, and more NFL drafts than one can shake a stick at. Mr. Meyer is a coach’s coach, and finally grabbed the head coach position at Ohio State. He was suspended when the university decided it needed to investigate Mr. Meyer’s actions and/or inactions.
Mr. Meyer said he did all that he was supposed to do when informed about the domestic abuse. The Barometer does not know what “doing all that you were supposed to do” means, but has heard it before, from Joe Paterno, and throughout the Michigan State responses to the Nassar molestation of young gymnasts. Penn State and Michigan State lost their presidents over their failures to take swift and definitive action upon gaining knowledge of abuse. Ohio State’s president has been meeting with the trustees and a decision is expected by Sunday.
There are some patterns here — the question always boils down to the power of sports on campuses and who can throw whom under the bus first. How about just dealing with these issues when they first emerge? Hard though they may be to believe, one can never assume nor protect. “Doing all that you were supposed to do” is a duty on a higher level than just being a bystander.