COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State president Michael V. Drake tried to qualify the punishments to football coach Urban Meyer and athletic director Gene Smith late Wednesday night.
Meyer was suspended without pay through Sept. 2 and will miss the team's first three games. Smith is suspended, also without pay, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 16.
"This is one of those circumstances where there is no right answer," Drake said. "It's not possible to make everyone happy. In that circumstance, we're trying not to seek a sole perfect answer for everyone."
MORE: Gene Smith, Meyer failed most important aspect of OSU investigation
Drake was in an unenviable position. A considerable portion of the Ohio State fan base felt Meyer did no wrong as it related to the domestic abuse allegations involving former assistant coach Zach Smith. Outside the Buckeye Nation bubble, however, a considerable portion of college football pundits and fans wondered whether Meyer's punishment was just.
The 23-page report showed the university's findings, but that university release wasn't delivered until after the impromptu news conference. That followed 12 hours of deliberation by the Ohio State University Board of Trustees on Wednesday. After a monthlong saga that took several unexpected turns, several questions surrounding Meyer and Smith still haven't been answered, and the Buckeyes open the season in less than 10 days against Oregon State.
Despite the decision, it's uncertainty as usual in Columbus.
"I think it's going to get a little bit worse because of the manner of which everything happened and the timeline of events," Bobby Carpenter, a former Ohio State linebacker and current radio host on WBNS-FM in Columbus, told Sporting News. "You have a press conference and you did answer questions, but (reporters) didn't know what questions to ask because they didn't have the report. (Ohio State) put a half-million dollars into this. Answer some questions about the process in which you did it."
Drake was right about one thing in his statements surrounding the domestic abuse scandal and the constant drama that has surrounded Meyer in Gene Smith in the last month:
There are no right answers, and almost nobody is happy right now.
OSU president Michael Drake, left, athletic director Gene Smith, center, and football coach Urban Meyer address the media at Longaberger Alumni House. (Bill Bender/SN)
Most of that anger — both in support and opposition — is directed at Meyer, who on Wednesday spoke publicly for the first time since his news conference at Big Ten Media Days on July 24.
Meyer again only half-answered questions about whether he knew of a 2015 incident involving Zach Smith and his ex-wife Courtney Smith. The investigation found Meyer made misstatements at Big Ten Media Days but also determined it was not part of a deliberate cover-up. Meyer read a statement from the podium and gave terse answers to questions about whether he believed his suspension was warranted. After the press conference, it was revealed Meyer had deleted texts between him and Smith that were over a year old. That only complicates the situation.
"Ultimately I'm responsible for everyone's behavior in the football department," Meyer said. "There was some behavior that maybe I was unaware of, but I should have been aware of it."
MORE: Comparing Meyer's suspension to players'
Meyer had worked hard to repair his image from his tenure at Florida — which included two national championships but also 31 player arrests — since arriving in Columbus in 2012. He was more known for a "Real Life Wednesdays" campaign, which sold the prospect of life after football. A few player incidents stood out under Meyer — most notably Carlos Hyde's three-game suspension after he hit a woman in a bar in 2013 — but his stay at Ohio State felt different until the Smith allegations came to light. Meyer might have tried to get the message across to the players, but one assistant coach simply didn't listen.
The biggest point in defense of Meyer has been that Zach Smith was never arrested in 2015. The Powell (Ohio) Police Department did not charge Zach Smith in that incident involving his ex-wife.
"I don't know if there's a clarification issue, but after reading everything in the report I don't know anything fully suspendable in there where he violated the terms of his contract," Carpenter said. "One problem with (lead investigator) Mary Jo White, she said sometimes to the effect the investigation and law enforcement simply isn't enough. I'd like to think in the United States of America, it's not perfect, but it's the fairest justice system around, to my knowledge"
Still, Meyer drew criticism for several things he said during the news conference, including his denial of knowledge of texts Courtney Smith sent his wife, Shelley — something investigators also doubted. Meyer admitted seeing "red flags" with Zach Smith, but held onto the coach, partially out of loyalty to his mentor and former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce, who died April 20. Bruce was Zach Smith's grandfather.
The most noticeable half-answer regarded Courtney Smith herself. Meyer, Drake and Gene Smith collectively failed to mention her by name, even when a reporter asked Meyer if he had a message for Courtney Smith. Meyer's answer has become fodder for critics.
"I have a message for everyone involved in this," Meyer responded. "I'm sorry that we're in this situation, and I'm just sorry in this situation."
Kevin Noon, managing editor at BuckeyeGrove.com, heard that answer and sensed what would be the main takeaway from the news conference, even as the merit of Meyer's three-game suspension continues to be debated across the college football landscape.
"I truly believe he feels like he did nothing wrong in terms of the burden of reporting to Gene Smith," Noon said. "I think when history looks back at this the suspension probably won't be linked to that whole situation as much as to maybe some bad decisions in keeping Zach around as long as he did."
MORE: College football observers question Meyer's punishment
Reporters and Ohio State fans crowd around Urban Meyer's vehicle behind Longaberger Alumni House. (Bill Bender/SN)
Carpenter on Aug. 3 inadvertently predicted the media hysteria that would soon engulf Ohio State's domestic abuse scandal.
"You're always going to have the two extremes," Carpenter told SN from the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. "The blind loyalty and the people that are going to call for somebody's head as if it's the French Revolution. They want a guillotine right now before there's any more information."
A few hours later, that new information arrived in the form of a Meyer Twitter statement in which he said he properly reported the alleged 2015 domestic abuse incident to his superiors. Zach Smith followed up the same day with an interview on "SportsCenter," saying he never abused his ex-wife — but also supporting Meyer for his handling of the situation.
From there, national writer Brett McMurphy and Ohio State beat writer Jeff Snooks released contradictory reports that dragged the details of Zach and Courtney Smith's relationship into the public. Those reports became the referendum on whether Meyer should stay or go.
That didn't even include an Urban Meyer rally, set up by more than 200 Ohio State fans on Aug. 6, which featured nonsensical signs that shifted the focus away from the actual investigation.
The nonsense continued Wednesday when students and fans showed up around Longaberger Alumni House, where the Board of Trustees deliberated how to act on the investigation's findings. One fan held up a sign that read "Free Urban." Another played the Ohio State fight song from his iPad. Intermittent chants of "O-H … I-O" and "Michigan sucks!" broke out.
Travis Raines and Rob Gerstner, 19-year-old freshman students, showed up and stayed for more than three hours as the board deliberated. When asked about Meyer's future while rumors swirled about a power struggle between Drake and Meyer, they made it clear how they felt.
"I've never heard of a coach telling a president he won't be fired," Raines said. "That's something new, but I don't think it's (Meyer's) job to be a babysitter."
"He shouldn't be in charge of that kind of stuff," Gerstner added. "It's a tough situation to be in, but I don't think he should be fired."
MORE: Investigation finds Meyer deleted old texts with Zach Smith
It all came to a head Wednesday night when word leaked of an 8:50 p.m. news conference after reporters on hand had waited the entire day to hear word of the university's decision.
"There have been a lot of highs and lows we've seen through this whole circus, but that setup (Wednesday) was about as weird as it gets," Noon said. "I've never had to sit as long as possible in one situation, and just the way the press conference came together with the findings, I don't know if I'll ever go through another situation quite like that again."
As much as the punishments that would follow, that part of the process will be remembered by people on the outside as much as anything. A few minutes later, Drake was asked whether there was any consideration to firing Meyer or Smith.
"We wanted to consider the entire range of the available," Drake said, "then worked hard to find a place that would be fair and appropriate and ultimately lead us to the lessons that would allow us to be a stronger university moving forward."
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In order to do that, Ohio State will need to prove that the university can coexist with the football program and athletic department in a way that removes the threat of future embarrassments of this magnitude.
That remains a complicated process. Meyer is 73-8 since his arrival at Ohio State, and the Board of Trustees and Drake deemed his knowledge and inaction regarding Zach Smith's alleged abuse wasn't enough to fire the coach. Not that other questions haven't popped up. Why didn't Meyer disclose to Gene Smith when he hired Zach Smith in 2011 that Zach Smith had been arrested during his time as an assistant to Meyer at Florida? Gene Smith said Wednesday he had no knowledge of that arrest at the time. Why was Zach Smith still on staff despite those behaviors, even if Meyer reported the 2015 incident through the proper channels?
"I don't think everything has been answered," Noon said. "The only answers we have are the suspensions to Gene and Urban. I think this will be talked about well into the season."
That will continue the blame game. Those who support Meyer will continue to blame Gene Smith. Those who want Meyer out will continue to blame the football program and the university for not holding the coach more accountable for his actions.
There is no doubt Meyer, who preaches "zero tolerance" of players who commit abuse against women, must be held to a higher standard. The Buckeyes kept their football coach, but not even a conference championship will erase the series of embarrassments that unfolded in Columbus during that investigation.
It's Meyer's fault for not confronting the truth with the media sooner.
MORE: Timeline of key events in Zach Smith abuse scandal
Meyer wasn't clear about the reasons for Zach Smith's firing when he had 90 minutes to clear up any misgivings at Big Ten Media Days. If he would have confronted McMurphy's initial report with the same vigor seen in his Twitter statement on Aug. 3 — in which he admitted knowledge of the 2015 incident — there might not have been an investigation at this level. Meyer is not responsible for Zach Smith's or even Gene Smith's actions, but the coach should be responsible for knowing the extent of involvement players and coaches have with law enforcement off the field.
It's Gene Smith's fault, too. He made mistakes in the hiring and management of employees with Zach Smith and with Meyer.
"I have huge regret for my inability to be the effective leader that I should have been in this situation," Gene Smith said. "The greatest pain that I have is the people that I serve every single day, the 565 employees that I go to work with, the thousand-plus student-athletes that we work for every day and of course all of Buckeye nation at this institution. It's been painful. It's been hard. But I'm very supportive of where we are today."
It was another misstep for the university to have a news conference, then release the findings of the investigation. That only created more confusion and blowback.
"It sounds like they wanted to have the press conference and push this all out and have that be the end of it," Carpenter said. "By the time it was 6 or 7, that wasn't going to be so late with the time constraints. But if you don't want anybody to ask any more questions, (then) give them the 23-page report, let them draw some conclusions and let them ask additional questions.
"If they would have released the report at 10 (Wednesday) night (and) then had a press conference (Thursday), then everybody would have been able to look at the findings and ask more pointed questions."
In all, the process was a complete failure that diverted attention from the serious nature of the domestic violence allegations. Now, the 23-page report will be a source for more digging into Meyer. He'll need to show more transparency as he faces those questions in the future.
"As a head coach you're ultimately responsible for everybody's behavior," Meyer said. "That's a very difficult thing to do, we all know that. However, there were red flags. I wish I had known, I wish I had done a better job of finding things out. I wish I was told more things. But ultimately, that's part of the job, you're ultimately responsible to represent this incredible university. I wish I had done more."
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Tuesday's edition of The Lantern, the Ohio State student newspaper, featured a cover that read "Summer of Allegations." Pictures of Meyer and former wrestling team doctor Richard Strauss, who is part of a separate controversy the school is dealing with, flanked Drake in the middle.
You can't go anywhere in Ohio without talking about those allegations, and those scandals have been the lead topic of conversation for the back half of the summer. The Buckeyes open the season Sept. 1 against Oregon State without answers to some of those questions.
Perhaps the only normalcy could be heard on the loudspeakers from strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti. He could be heard while the Buckeyes practiced across the street from the Longaberger Alumni House on Wednesday. The media have been given brief glimpses of a team that opened at No. 5 in the AP's preseason poll and continues to prepare under interim coach Ryan Day. Neither the team nor coaches have been made available for questions.
The last glimpse came Aug. 18, the last day of fall camp. While the team stretched, a roar rose as an oldie but goodie from Earth, Wind and Fire poured from those same loudspeakers. Defensive line coach Larry Johnson flashed a few dance moves. Running backs coach Tony Alford squirted water bottles at unsuspecting players.
"Do you remember the 21st night of September?/Love was changing the minds of pretenders/While chasing the clouds away … "
The 21st night of September can't get here fast enough for the Buckeyes. That's the day before Meyer returns to the sideline when the Buckeyes face Tulane at Ohio Stadium. It will be interesting to see how many clouds are still hovering over the program at that point. In that regard, neither the investigation nor Drake found a sole, perfect answer. In fact, they left too many questions on the table.
"There was no sweet spot in making everybody happy," Noon said. "When you pick a spot in the middle you make nobody happy. That's kind of what happened here."
MORE: Big Ten coaches must live up to conference standard
Now it's on Meyer and Smith to prove Drake and the Board of Trustees made the right decision in an environment where the next mistake should be their last at Ohio State.
"Suspensions are tough, but I fully accept them," Meyer said Wednesday. "I wish I could go back and make a different decision, but I can't. These difficult lessons are a constant reminder I have as a member of this university and this community. I take this responsibility very seriously, and I will do better."
Zero tolerance. That must be the bar for "do better." If Meyer proves the university made the right decision, the last three weeks — which bordered on absurd as the investigation took place — will diminish with time. Regardless, this domestic abuse scandal will always remain part of Meyer's legacy.
If Meyer fails now, then the I-told-you-so's will never end. Ohio State — the university — will wear that a lot longer than the football program. That's the risk the board and Drake took.
And whether you're rooting for or against Meyer at this point, getting it wrong will never be the right answer.
