Published Aug 23, 2018
Take Two: Was Urban Meyer's suspension the proper penalty?
Mike Farrell, Adam Gorney
Rivals.com

Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.comnetwork of team sites.

MORE: Farrell on Meyer suspension | Ohio State recruits react

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THE STORYLINE

Ohio State suspended coach Urban Meyer for three games after nearly 12 hours of deliberation at the board of trustees meeting Wednesday, but the board did not fire Meyer, nor give him a lengthier suspension.

That decision comes after a two-week investigation that concluded Sunday. Meyer, athletics director Gene Smith, who received a suspension from Aug. 31 through Sept. 16, and Ohio State president Michael Drake met with the media for about 20 minutes late Wednesday night.

This has been a sordid tale from the beginning when reporter Brett McMurphy released a story on Facebook outlining alleged domestic abuse by receivers coach Zach Smith on his wife, Courtney. Included in those stories were text messages traded between Courtney Smith and Meyer’s wife, Shelley.

In the end, the question is this: Do you agree with the decision to suspend Meyer for three games without pay with no other penalties?

FIRST TAKE: KEVIN NOON, BUCKEYEGROVE.COM

“I have gone back and forth on this one and I think they were close to the mark, even though I still have questions. If Meyer reported to the athletic director, why are we standing here? Obviously, nobody is going to be happy with any answer. Ohio State fans wanted 'time served' (apologies to Freddie Prinze Jr. who took offense to that on Twitter) while Ohio State-haters or just Urban-haters were looking for cruel and unusual punishment to be levied.

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“I felt pretty confident in saying as of a couple days ago that termination was taken off of the table, but suspension was very much in play and it seemed that the school president was firm on some sort of punishment being handed down.

“Was there bad judgment in keeping Smith on staff once some of these things were learned and based on some earlier suspected transgressions earlier in his career? Absolutely. We are going to all see more and more about Smith once the full report comes out and parts likely will not be flattering.

"But I will maintain that until proven otherwise, Meyer did what was asked of him in terms of reporting to his superiors. Where I think he gets into trouble is by being in the situation in the first place and not being more aware of who he surrounded himself with.”

TAKE TWO: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM

“I don’t think he should have been fired but I think his suspension should have been longer. I would think probably a full season would have sent a message as to how important dealing with domestic abuse and coaches like Zach Smith.

“I just think they were a little light on him. I was worried it was going to be no suspension and just time served, which would have been really ridiculous, but three games just doesn’t seem like enough to me.”