Ex-OSU player blames media, not Urban Meyer or alleged abuser, for downfall of Buckeyes coach
On Wednesday, Ohio State placed head football coach Urban Meyer on administrative leave while the school investigates what he knew about former assistant Zach Smith’s allegedly abusing his wife repeatedly over the course of six years.
It’s the beginning of a process that could end with the firing of Meyer, a three-time national champion coach and titan of college football.
Former Buckeye blames media for Urban Meyer’s problems
This has incensed former Buckeyes fullback Zach Boren, who took to Twitter Wednesday to blame the media — not Smith or Meyer — for the problems engulfing the Ohio State football program.
I can't stand when people/media talk about something that they are so clueless on. Before opening your mouth or "reporting" something, know the whole story and know what you are talking about. Big problem in our world now a days. #digforbigstory #keepcoachmeyeroutofit
— Zach Boren (@ZBoren44) August 1, 2018
He followed up his anti-media rant by calling the alleged spousal abuse “no one else’s” problem but theirs because it happened in their home.
This is a Zach and Courtney issue. No one else's. Everyone is trying to bring down the Meyer Family and the rest of the Ohio state staff/program based off of incidents that involved TWO people at their home. This issue will get settled in court between those TWO. END OF STORY!
— Zach Boren (@ZBoren44) August 1, 2018
Boren’s is another case of dangerous anti-media rhetoric that has infected dialogue in the United States that spits vitriol and seeks to discredit legitimate news reports because the critic doesn’t like what’s being reported.
Boren takes cue from Donald Trump
It’s a play straight out of the Donald Trump playbook where the president repeatedly sows mistrust amongst his followers of media outlets reporting real news that shines a negative light on his administration and policies.
As in many of those cases, it’s not a media bias here that’s shining an ugly light. It’s the actual news that’s ugly.
Boren is demonstrating a symptom here of a larger societal problem while standing one step away from shouting “fake news.”
What we know about Urban Meyer and Zach Smith
Here’s a brief synopsis of the real, live, legitimate and thorough reporting that has prompted Ohio State to investigate Meyer.
Smith stands accused of abusing his then-wife Courtney Smith repeatedly from 2009-2015.
Meyer admitted last week that he hired Smith at OSU fully aware of a 2009 abuse accusation Courtney levied against Zach while on Meyer’s staff at Florida. Courtney, pregnant at the time, accused Zach of shoving her against a wall.
Early Wednesday, college football reporter Brett McMurphy revealed text messages that point to Meyer’s wife knowing about the ongoing alleged abuse, calling into question a statement Meyer made last week.
“I was never told about anything, anything never came to light, never had a conversation about it, so I know nothing about that,” Meyer said last week of the 2015 abuse allegations.
In whole, there are a slew of police reports, text messages and legitimate media reports that point to Smith’s alleged abuse and Meyer’s alleged knowledge of the abuse as it was ongoing.
There is real information out there that has led to a coaching giant’s job being in peril.
These are not manifestations of media members out to get Ohio State.
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