COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) The Urban Meyer investigation is costing Ohio State $500,000, but whether the superstar football coach keeps his job still comes down to whether the university wants to stick with him based on how he’s already been tainted by the scandal.
Meyer is on paid leave while Ohio State pays an outside firm to investigate and a six-member university committee considers whether he responded properly to accusations of domestic abuse made against one of his coaches, Zach Smith, who has been fired.
But Meyer has already given his bosses plenty to consider he says he knew of domestic violence allegations against Zach Smith before he brought Smith to coach wide receivers at Ohio State, and that he reported new accusations properly when they surfaced in 2015.
University officials expect to make a decision within about a week in what could come down to a public relations balancing act involving the schools reputation, $38 million in future salary under Meyers contract and other jobs at stake.
WHY FIRE MEYER?
Meyer knew about a 2009 domestic incident in Gainesville, Florida, when Smith was a graduate assistant coach for Meyers Florida team. A police report says that during an argument Zach Smith picked up a pregnant Courtney and threw her against a wall. Zach Smith was never charged.
Knowing that, Meyer allowed Smith to stay on staff at Florida and then brought Smith in at Ohio State. Meyer also knew about the 2015 abuse allegations , but Smith the grandson of former Ohio State coach and Meyer mentor Earle Bruce kept his job until Courtney Smith filed for a restraining order on July 20.
Ohio State didnt put Meyer on leave until Courtney Smith talked to a reporter, saying she was abused for years by her ex-husband. Zach Smith has denied her abuse allegations and has never been prosecuted for abuse.
The Meyer investigation plays out at a time when the school itself and college athletics at large is under scrutiny around the handling of misconduct allegations.
Ohio State has a growing list of more than 100 former students and athletes who say they were groped and otherwise mistreated by Dr. Richard Strauss, a deceased athletic department doctor who worked at the university for nearly 20 years. There are questions about whether Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan knew about the abuse when he was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State during the same time.
At least three federal lawsuits have been filed against Ohio State by men who say they were abused by Strauss.
Dont expect fans and critics to separate the scandals when a decision is made on Meyer.
WHY KEEP MEYER?
Meyer said he followed proper protocol and procedures after finding out about the 2015 abuse allegations.
Meyer didnt detail those actions but the crafted statement was clearly a public defense of his job.
Meyer signed a contract extension in the spring with new language that requires him to promptly report any known violations of Ohio States sexual misconduct policy to the schools Title IX officials. The policy includes sexual harassment, intimate violence and stalking that involves any student, faculty or staff. The clause doesnt specify how Meyer should treat older accusations.
Meyer may have limited responsibility for reporting because of the scope of behavior covered by the misconduct policy and Title IX, according to Micaela Deming, staff attorney with the Ohio Domestic Violence Network.
