LOCAL NOTIONS: Meyer needs harsher punishment

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 26, 2018 3:13 AM

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What is down in the well usually comes up in the bucket.

Sludge has overflowed from the college pail lately.

The latest silt comes from Columbus, Ohio.

A two-week investigation into Ohio State head football coach Urban Meyer's knowledge of domestic abuse allegations involving a former staffer resulted in just a three-game suspension for the legendary coach.

Meyer can return to coaching Sept. 22.

Three games.

That's all.

His punishment pales in comparison to stiff punishments doled out by the NCAA for minor infractions since 2010.

• AJ Green sold his 2009 bowl jersey for $1,000. He paid the amount to a charity.

• Tarboro native Todd Gurley, while at Georgia, sat out four games for accepting money for autographs. He repaid a portion to charity and served 40 hours of community service.

• Nine North Carolina football players will miss four football games after they sold team-issued shoes. A total of 13 Tar Heels were suspended for at least one game, beginning with the season opener Sept. 1 at California.

• There was another Ohio State scandal. You remember the "Tattoo Taboo" that led a one-year postseason ban, the loss of wins from the 2010 season and the eventual resignation of then-head coach Jim Tressel? The NCAA slapped Tressel with a five-year show-cause penalty that kept him out of the coaching ranks through the 2016 season.

• Receiving impermissible benefits cost Laremy Tunsil of Ole Miss seven games in 2015. He received loaner vehicles and promissory note to make a down payment on a car.

• Will Grier missed the entire 2015 season for taking an over-the-counter supplement that contained an NCAA-banned substance. Grier transferred from Florida to West Virginia, and looks to lead the Mountaineers to a Big 12 title this fall.

Meyer received the equivalent of a slap on the wrist.

"Don't do it again, Meyer, or the consequences might be worse."

OSU officials apologized profusely to the "Buckeye Nation" for three days over Meyer's transgressions. Never did they mention Courtney Smith, the ex-wife of a fired assistant coach.

On Friday, Meyer finally stepped up to the plate.

"Let me say here and now what I should have said on Wednesday: I sincerely apologize to Courtney Smith and her children for what they have gone through," Meyer said.

Meyer later said he was sorry that OSU was "in this situation" and that it was "a real learning experience."

Somewhere the education he received at home didn't translate well into his football program as he attempted to make his assistant coaches and players aware of the seriousness of relationship violence.

Meyer and the entire OSU athletic administration needs a refresher course in sensitivity training.

The embattled coach needs a harsher penalty.

Community service such as teaching a domestic violence course or volunteering at a shelter for battered women might open his eyes a little more.

Then Meyer would learn how to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.