Deadspin writer Diana Moskovitz explains how otherwise sane people are willing to forgive a coach almost anything as long as he wins big. Because she was one of those people.
I’ve never been an avid enough fan of anything to have been affected by this syndrome. It puzzles me.
Urban has a legal requirement to report coach & staff incidents to his superiors. They decide the appropriate punishment and whether to fire the employee.
Urban claims he did that. If true, then I don’t think he’ll lose his job.
I’m glad there’s an investigation to sort this out.
they should ask the people who run college sports their opinion - TV networks. If ESPN wanted an ISIS bowl in Tehran it would happen
I totally agree. It’s insane the highest paid public officials in most states are usually sports coaches.
With that amount of money floating around, it shows most people care more about their college teams, especially good ones that bring bragging rights to forums and social situations, and would lash out at anything and anyone that would disrupt that.
Best example: Joe Paterno and Penn State.
As a Florida fan, that bait-and-switch tactic was infuriating. Many of us understood the need to take a break from Gators football. The job is stressful not only with other schools, but making sure the team does well and dealing with unrelenting fans.
But to immediately start working for Ohio State, saying it was a “dream come true,” and, as Jasmine pointed out, cured over night, it seemed he was more interested in the bigger pay check for a school and community that’ll worship him.
The payout is plausible. Going to a smaller school? Not a chance. They simply couldn’t afford him. If anything, after the scandal dies down, he might pick up a job with a major NFL team or, even more likely, start working as a ESPN analyst.
those smaller schools can sometimes pay a lot if they get big donors to pony up. But NFL teams would give him a shot as would TV.
This guy was fired locally in 1990 due to NCAA probation, not losing. Jim Valvano - Wikipedia
28 years later nutjob fans are still throwing tantrums over his firing.
A lof of the worst fans for this stuff as not alums, but locals who never sniffed a college class.
Correct.
Case in point: The residents of Tallahassee and Gainesville.
many of the big name college FB teams are in areas with no pro sports, Alabama and the SEC are examples. Clemson is another. Florida has a lot of pro teams but college FB is still very big there. Texas has the NFL and other pro teams but college and even high school FB are just as big now as they were pre NFL teams. If they do have pro sports, some college teams are more popular than pro teams such as Columbus /Ohio State, Penn State ,etc.
You can add Columbus and central Ohio to that list as well.
if Alabama coach is fired now the state would be burned to the ground
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Bloomington, Ind.
Athens, Ga.
Knoxville, Tenn.
Columbus, S.C.
College Station, Texas
Oxford, Miss.
The list can go on and on.
On the face of it, I agree. Lying to the press is not a crime and in some cases could even be the right thing to do. But in this case, Urban’s lie led to instant trouble when the media, as they often do, found out the truth. If he was not to share any information, a prepared statement followed by “this is not the appropriate time for me to answer questions on this” would have been a better response at the Big Ten media day. He should have been better prepared.
What’s interesting is that none of Urban’s superiors have shed any light on this situation. Gene Smith, OSU’s athletic director, remains silent. Even the announcement that Urban was on paid leave came from the president of the University, not Smith. Which I guess makes sense if Smith’s actions are also being investigated in the process.
This is a big, big gamble.
As predicted, fans rallying behind the coach!!
Ohio State fans rallying behind Urban Meyer
Very high chance he just gets 3-4 games off for lying to press. They actually play a good team in week 3 so he may have to miss that one. The other 3 early games are against bad teams.
They say the will decide in 14 days so that’s pretty much a whitewash coming.
No surprise. The University will conduct an internal investigation and find Meyer wasn’t at fault. The school keeps their star coach and hopes of another national championship – more money from boosters and ignorant alumni – alive.
I really don’t like Ohio State or Urban Meyer. But if Urban reported what he knew and someone above him said it’s not an issue, then I don’t think he should be fired. If that is in fact the case, I’d be surprised if he’s even suspended.
It seems to me that someone dropped the ball here (no pun intended). If Meyer reported it, and someone higher up in the reporting chain decided to hush it up or take no action in order to protect the athletic program, that person should face discipline. (Unless they’ve already left the school, in which case I’m not sure what kind of remedy there would be.)
You’re both just as bad as the fans blindly defending him. You’ve already tried and convicted him.
where did I say he should be fired? I am just predicting what will happen. Most media are now saying he stays as well.