Meyer, meyer

Hypocrisy is nothing new in the world of college sports. Honestly, it’s a fact of life.

In an industry full of people being thrown under the bus and betrayed, looking for authenticity can be a challenge. College sports are nothing less than an industry built on hard work not being repaid. From college players not being monetarily rewarded and college coaches advancing based on things other than merit, the world of college athletics has too much hypocrisy to keep up with.

That does not mean that when something stands out we must ignore it. Urban Meyer, head coach of The Ohio State Buckeyes, may be taking home the award for biggest hypocrite in the field after his past week.

Meyer was placed on paid administrative leave, on Monday, after being accused of covering up spousal abuse allegations of one of his longtime assistants. That is a large issue, but only the tip of what I want to discuss.

It was always whispered that Meyer knew plenty about his players at the University of Florida. Enough, or maybe too much, seeing as though, he was said to know enough to get some of his players in a lot of trouble.

Those were, in the end, only allegations, but this week’s news is more.

Last September, when four college basketball assistant coaches were arrested among allegations that they had illegally recruited using funds, Meyer was among the loudest when he was asked what he thought.

In an interview with USA Today Meyer said:

“I always believed if you willfully and intentionally broke the rule or you lie to the NCAA, you can never coach again. To this day, I still believe that. I’m not talking about mistakes made when you have a rulebook like this (thick). But if you intentionally pay a guy money or willfully have a second cell phone to make illegal phone calls, you’re done. You can never coach again.”

That, if you haven’t had negative allegations stick with you through multiple jobs, is a perfectly acceptable opinion. One that the NCAA, any institution and fans across the land, would love to hear from a coach. That does not fit Meyer’s resume.

While I love the thought that sports, specifically college sports, are not cheating on a large scale I am not ignorant. Meyer has no room for a discussion in that conversation.

I am a firm believer that if you are alleged one time of cheating: I’ll wait until it’s proven to comment, but as soon as it happens a second or third time, I no longer feel that need. If someone of merit accuses you of cheating for a second time, I am going to have a hard time believing they jeopardized their career for a lie against a big name.

Meyer continued:

“I’m in favor of regulation. I’m in favor of strong law enforcement and making people obey the rules in our profession. I don’t know the whole story behind it. I don’t have time. But I know one thing, when you start hearing “federal,” when someone asks you a question and you lie, you’re going to jail. I’m anxious to watch what happens.”

Someone with that much energy towards cheating and lying sure does seem to have issues staying out of the news for it. This struggle for truth isn’t hard for me, if he’s found guilty, just as he suggested for others, he’s out. If he isn’t found guilty, he’s out. Not that I’m dying to build the Buckeyes empire any bigger, but why sacrifice your name in connection to a man who loves the pursuit of justice, but continues to be under the watchful eye of it.