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Urban Meyer asked what he’d say to the alleged victim, and he completely missed the mark
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The press conference following the announcement that Ohio State coach Urban Meyer would be suspended for three games was full of awkward moments, but one cringeworthy moment stuck out above the rest.
That’s because a reporter in attendance asked Meyer what he would say to Courtney Smith — the former wife of ex-Ohio State WR coach Zach Smith and the victim in the 2015 domestic violence incident.
Meyer said he would say, not just to Courtney, but to everyone, that he is “sorry we are in this situation,” according to reporter Brett McMurphy:
Urban Meyer’s message to Courtney Smith: “I have a message for everyone in this, I’m sorry we are in this situation.” Urban also said he was “not aware of Shelley’s text messages” from Courtney, detailing the abuse
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 23, 2018
Obviously, that’s not much of a message, and media members quickly called him out for missing the mark:
Urban Meyer probably should’ve prepared a little better for a possible question about what message he’d like to send to Courtney Smith. Because “I’m sorry we’re in this situation” is a pretty lousy message for Courtney Smith.
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) August 23, 2018
Urban Meyer asked about Courtney Smith:
"Well, I have a message for everyone involved. I'm sorry we're in this situation."
This means = 'I hate that it got out, not that Courtney Smith was beaten.'
— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) August 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/jasonkersey/status/1032441730623254529
Urban on what he’d say to Courtney Smith: “I’m sorry we’re in this situation.” WTF?
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) August 23, 2018
Give #OhioState officials a lot of credit for taking questions tonight. That not one mentioned Courtney Smith’s name is incredibly disappointing.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) August 23, 2018
Yikes. Meyer probably should have either spent a bit more time on a potential response, or just avoided the question altogether.
This certainly was not a good look.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
