Ohio State just released new information about the group investigating the situation involving Urban Meyer and former wide receivers coach Zach Smith.
The release says the group has already met and hired a team to help with the investigation. That group will be headed by the former Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
It also sets a timetable to have a decision: two weeks.
That would put the final report out sometime around Friday, August 17 or Monday, August 20.
You can read the full release from Ohio State below.
A newly convened, independent working group — formed by the university’s Board of Trustees to direct the investigation involving Urban Meyer — met late last week, appointed a chair, and engaged an investigative firm.
Former Ohio House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson will serve as chair of the working group, which includes former acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Craig Morford, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Carter Stewart and current university trustees Alex Fischer, Janet Porter and Alex Shumate. The group was formed to direct the work of the investigative team and be available to provide consultation and advice, and to assist with communication to the full board on the matter.
Decisions about actions, based on the findings of the investigation, will be made by the president of the university in consultation with the Board of Trustees.
Former Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Mary Jo White will lead the investigative team. White is a senior chair with the national law firm Debevoise & Plimpton and is a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
“Ohio State is committed to a thorough and complete investigation,” Davidson said. “We look forward to sharing the results of this investigation and any action the university may take.”
The investigation is expected to be completed within 14 days.
James, agree with most of your CFB statement and you nailed it on the head with the previous statement. Just listened to ESPN and heard the broadcaster blast Urban than the typical PC retardation statement that collectively, we don’t take violence against women seriously, which is pure 100% bull. The news media needs to stop being SJW and just report on facts!
The problem is that they have gone too far and even if they wanted to, and they KNOW they’re wrong, they feel they have no other alternative because they’ll expose their own self loathing fraud. So they INVENT crisis’ in a weak and very transparent way to anyone paying attention, but is swallowed by delicate minds who see a victim behind every bush. In general this younger generation is too caught in believing they are somehow better and smarter and therefore more entitled than us older generations and, simply CANNOT accept truth when it smacks them in their indoctrinated heads. So called reporters from the end of the 19th century to present day have swallowed the Edward Bernays (yep, Goebbels learned EVERYTHING he knew from reading and listening to Bernays) of public misinformation to herd the masses. What we know today as the Ivy League Schools, and I’ll include TSUN, Stanford and Berkeley, are the places where 18th and 19th century Great Britain began their slow conversion of the American people and bringing this Country down from the inside out.
Today they have found useful idiots in even sports reporting, where a huge young population devoutly follows. Where Hitler used brute force, in America they are using passive aggressive miseducation processes to confuse the younger generation. They have rewritten text books, including most of the Law Libraries on Campuses by instituting communist theory on statism.
The NCAA isn’t a monopoly, they are a monopsony, which is a lateral design of an Oligarchic. We know, the NCAA IS the body politic of the CULT of socialism within every participating member, with the figurehead of a presiding president. They WON’T allow discord that runs against their rule and they have indoctrinated today’s youth to believe the other side of the arguments are the same as Hitler, when it’s THEM who are absolutely the exact same AS Hitler.
Sports “journalists” are now a part of that Bernays retardation right along with perverted propagandists in the general news media. The sad part is that they KNOW deep inside that what they’re doing is 100% against the entire reason for this Nations founding principles of Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness (defined in earlier time in America as, property). What these people refuse to tell the younger generations is that socialism is and has been a failure since the day scumbags like Marx and Engels first belched out the “virtues” of the collective. A collective is ALWAYS doomed to fail and eventually devour itself like a cannibal.
It’s sad that these little cockroaches such as this creepy reporter from Big 10 Media Days are allowed to persist. He’s a combination of wannabe mainstream media and SJW stupidity. He NEVER cared that his information was wrong and certainly on unstable ground. If he and Courtney, who may be an unwitting sympathetic collaborator of that clown show of social justice warriors ignorance/foolishness, it amounts to telling a lie loud enough to where an indoctrinated population swallow it with feigned outrage. The more I watch what’s going on the more it’s apparent that Urban Meyer, while PART of the system of miseducation socially, was set up to be a billboard example whether he was guilty of anything or not. No matter how minor his perceived actions were, he’s being used to promote the idea ALL football coaches, basketball coaches, etc are evil AND expendable for the goals of the state. In this case the state represents the entire body of the NCAA.
It must have come as a MASSIVE shock when Urban, rather than folding his tents and being a willing scapegoat, stood up and released a statement which can ONLY be seen as a warning to higher ranked “officials” of the state (NCAA). He’s not going to go quietly, he’s going to stand and fight back.
My admiration of who Urban Meyer is as a PERSON just got a whole lot higher. Maybe HE can be the John Witherspoon for the rise of independence over the mob.
The media wants to blame everyone for evil, Russia, China, WHOEVER for meddling, when it’s THEM along with perverted and dishonorable American politicians who are ENTIRELY to blame for ALL social injustices.
Did anyone go to the rally at the stadium today at 6PM? I live too far away. I did sign the petition though.
Rod, is seems like Urban is a scapegoat, but in the PC climate of Higher Education and our National media, like ESPN, Urban is already assumed guilty. So OSU and Urban need not only to prove, but in some ways ‘sell’ their innocence. Believe there would be an uproar if Urban gets viewed as a scapegoat should the story line go south and the facts bear otherwise.
Good comments, the reality is that OSU’s football team is part of a public University Church in which in many ways PC is the divine Gospel and SJW are the chief apostles.
This should have taken about three days max. If the texts were not forwarded to Urban and there are no recordings of Shelley telling Urban then there is no evidence, just conjecture by the “panel” and nothing but prejudice against Zack Smith and OSU because of the pc nature of the charges. Zack was fired unjustly until you provide any evidence beyond an angry woman’s hearsay. The timing of this and the deep pockets payoff at the end of the rainbow for the nutcase and her lawyer who have hitched their wagon to the #metoo movement and have convicted Zack Smith in the press stink to high heaven. I never thought that a men’s sport like football would become the arena for sjw political correctness but the same has happened with every other entertainment. A man can’t get any work done anymore for all the pc bullshit. This is a red herring but it’s doing its ugly work.
Wow…attack the victim seems to the route taken for some who don’t have all the facts necessary to make an informed decision. In text messages that I have seen…Zach admitted and apologized for his continual or repetitive abuse. The fact that he had (and admitted to having) a drinking problem would be grounds for dismissal. Had can you give counsel/direction to young impressionable young men when you yourself are struggling. Zach, at the very least should have sought for his alcoholism (which may have affected his anger issues) before being in a place of a leader.
Interesting Cageyone. Believe if that may have been the case then why the perceived absence of alcohol abuse by him in her recent sharing? I know of one email when he admitted to ‘picking her up by the neck.’ The facts are that not once did the police arrest Zach and she stayed with him all these years. If Urban and others were so negligent than why did Courtney trust Shelly enough to share this with her as late as 2015? We all wonder why this has become an issue now, as a main difference is that Zach is not receiving fact coaching checks. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying that she was not abused, nor am I saying that Urban is totally guilty. Don’t believe there is enough facts yet to determine it all. I don’t believe the majority of people here are not attacking Courtney and especially not defending Zach. Most people here, including me, want all the facts b4 we cast judgment. My hunch and it may be wrong is that Urban/OSU and those directly involved in this situation were probably first hand witnesses to a terrible marriage and did their best to assist in a very difficult manner. Either way, we’ll find out in 2 weeks for sure.
@James Mills….I too would like to see a quick resolve to this situation. But it has already been implied that the committee has found something much deeper that requires further investigation. Bothersome to me is past history. While at Florida the way Coach handled certain disciplinary cases with the athletes that got into trouble (i.e. Percy Harvin) was inconsistent at best.
Maybe you could help me in this matter as well….who is responsible for hiring and firing the Assistant Coaches who work under the head coach? If it is Meyer, it begs the question; why didn’t he get rid of Smith before now? Personally, I found Smith’ side show the other day not credible….
Hope you are well my friend.
In 2015 Zach Smith said Gene Smith called him and told him to get on the next plane back to Columbus. That shows Gene Smith knew about this. Some people think Zach should not have been hired in 2012 by OSU. Is that wrong knowing he and his wife had problems in 2009? Is there a policy that you can’t hire someone like Zach Smith whether or not he has been charged with domestic violence?
In general, divorces are typically ugly things with accusations and allegations flying. And, btw, reconciliations, temporary or long term happen too.
Domestic violence however, is a matter for the courts and not for Universities to “investigate” and remedy. That’s what we have Police and Lawyers for.
Glad to see that there are clear boundaries. As most in our national media and even CFB fans around the nation, Urban Meyer is a liar and guilty and this episode is really nothing more than the Columbus’ version of PSU’s recent scandal, even though the facts have yet to be made known. The thoroughness of this committee is needed as in a PC rich environment like OSU and National media outlets, men already bear guilt in any situation. This type of committee demonstrates that OSU takes any sense of spousal abuse seriously and finally will demonstrate not only Urban’s, Gene Smith and OSU’s innocence or guilt, but demonstrate to The NCAA and the nation,that they took this very seriously and will hopefully minimize possible penalties should they occur.
Urban Meyers contract at Florida and even a year ago at Ohio State were much different than they are this year. I’m certain that many on here cringed when I said in another thread that this almost feels like Urban Meyer, and you can check my history discussing Urban on here, not always being friendly to him, walked into a trap. The Title IX portion was just added to his contract in 2018 and suddenly Courtney (who I’m not brushing off because of what we know to be true about Zach) trots out to the public and a reported springs a gotcha question while Urban was at Big 10 Media Days prepared to talk about his team and football. The reporter should be permanently banned from attending ANY Big 10 event and NEVER allowed on the Ohio State Campus. He’s a jerkoff at best.
Rarely are coaches hired or fired without Urban Meyer’s (or any head coaches) input. Obviously they can’t be because that’s how he builds his staff. But the final signature on the hire or termination is Gene Smith’s. But the AD has to have sufficient show cause to terminate one WITHOUT Urbans knowledge. That bar is high. At the end of the day, if Urban wants to hire an assistant and he passes the proper vetting process, the Athletic Department…aka Gene Smith, will approve it. But to be correct, for either hiring or firing goes across Gene Smith’s desk.
Perhaps Urban didn’t feel it was a situation that demanded termination of Smith. I find that odd knowing that there’s more a couple police reports. I personally have always felt that Zach Smith coming to Ohio State just based on “the rumors” of spousal abuse in Florida was really something to watch. It’s no secret that while Earle Bruce I believe was a good man, I’ve never shared that same affinity with Zach. The rumors were one thing, but the FACT that the guy sucks as a position coach IMO is why I questioned his being at Ohio State. I think Urbans quote about the Buckeye receivers on the roster when he was hired about them being a “clown show” was to cover for an inept position coach he brought with him…..Zach Smith.
We’ll see what comes of this. I still just hope that Urban left a paper trail about the fact he reported up the food chain his knowledge of Zach Smith’s issues. Gene Smith has a history of throwing coaches under the bus and he’s gotten away with because of no paper trail. The Head Coach becomes the easy scapegoat and fall guy. I hope the Board has grown an understanding of how Gene Smith operates to cover his own backside. That could be why this is going to take 2 weeks to hash out. If I’m Meyer and I DID report to Gene, I’m demanding a polygraph. It’s not admissible in many court proceedings as fact, but it CAN be used to establish the voracity of Urbans claim, or shoot it in the rear in a situation like this.
I suppose they have to take their time and make it look good so people can’t say the investigation was a white wash. But from everything I’ve read, it looks like the facts are pretty clear.
Paul, I would tend to agree with you. However, this needs to take place, as most in the National Media has assumed that Urban is guilty, before all the facts were gathered.
While I have posted some unflattering remarks pertaining to Mr. Mills, his latest post is on target. Not wordy, short and to the point.
James is 100% correct – if Urban reported to the higher ups in a timely manner, he should not have missed a minute of practice! 14 days more to wait is indeed far too much time wasted unless there is solid proof to the contrary. Are we to believe that the head coach hid information when the investigators were the law enforcement? Or to think that Urban needed to conduct a separate investigation? Seems more like he is a scapegoat here.
14 days is a long time given the time of the year we are in. Given the time of the year, it is not fair to all the young men on the team. Yeah they can still practice but a part of their lives remain in limbo. Not fair at all.
There just is NOT that much information that they need to find. Interview the people directly involved, which is precious few of them. Collect the police reports which is as simple as a 30 second fax, turn it in to the Board and get the hell out. In essence this group that started out at reasonable size and has instantly doubled or tripled in size and will be paid 2 weeks for doing 3 days worth of work.
Reinstate Urban Meyer and lets get back to football.
This entire gaggle of suits have 1 thing to clear……….DID URBAN MEYER REPORT THIS UP THE FOOD CHAIN. If he did he should be back on the sideline YESTERDAY. Because if he did, he should NEVER have been put on any kind of leave.
The moron who started this whole sordid affair has been fired.
Smith is a moron and should have been fired but the REAL MORON is the unemployed reporter who went off half cocked without checking any of the facts. Of course, all the Urban Haters and OSU Haters were quick to jump on the bandwagon. Hopefully, the committee will not drag this out and make it a me too moment, i.e. the moment the Police arrested Smith, he was fired. placed the
Old Buckeye that idiot reporter should be FOREVER banished from any and all Big 10 functions, and especially from the Ohio State Campus.
I agree with you, but the whole things started when Courtney was sought out by the media and said that Urban knew about the 2015 incident and Urban shared at the B1G conference that he didn’t know about it. Should Urban had said, “No comment,” or “That is something that I can NOT comment upon at this time,” then most of this wouldn’t probably wouldn’t have taken place. My belief is that OSU is CYA themselves, Urban and the U., especially in a climate when sexual abuse and men usually means instant and intense scrutiny and guilt. Add to that social and instant media and tons of media types looking for a story and here we are!
Kurt, I think he should have said, “Who let this clown in here and said NEXT reporter with an answerable question about our preparations for the fall.”
As far as the media’s shilling for communism via PC retardation, it’s time for us to stuff these clowns and their agenda back into Pandora’s nasty box.