Urban Meyer is full of it

[dougdirt]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...orm-klein-team

After a charge of domestic violence was dismissed and the senior linebacker pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor disorderly conduct on Wednesday, Klein's status was re-evaluated by Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer on Thursday.

"As I had indicated previously, if there are changes in the charges against Storm, I would re-evaluate his status," Meyer said in a school release. "The charges that would have violated our core values have been totally dismissed."

So let me get this right Urban.... the court system allowed him to plea out to a lesser charge, despite nothing about the event actually changing that got him kicked off of the team, but that lesser charge fits in the core values of Ohio State? You sir, are full of it.

[jojo]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...orm-klein-team

After a charge of domestic violence was dismissed and the senior linebacker pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor disorderly conduct on Wednesday, Klein's status was re-evaluated by Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer on Thursday.

"As I had indicated previously, if there are changes in the charges against Storm, I would re-evaluate his status," Meyer said in a school release. "The charges that would have violated our core values have been totally dismissed."

So let me get this right Urban.... the court system allowed him to plea out to a lesser charge, despite nothing about the event actually changing that got him kicked off of the team, but that lesser charge fits in the core values of Ohio State? You sir, are full of it.

Ya, Urban IS full of it but the victim recanted her story so the charges were substantially altered.

You'll get to read more in the article that Matt Hayes is no doubt furiously typing as we speak.

[dougdirt]

So it is just like 75% of other domestic violence cases?

[Mutaman]

Gotta go along with Doug on this one.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

So it is just like 75% of other domestic violence cases?

So let me get this straight, Doug, the woman says she wasn't hit, the court system recognizes this by dropping the domestic violence charges, and you think he should be punished even though the alleged victim and the law say the incident didn't happen?

That's a strange system of justice.

Maybe she was and maybe he did, but she and the courts say otherwise. The kid should not be punished for something he was was cleared of doing... and please don't debate the term cleared, because it's semantics at this point. As far as the law is concerned, he didn't hit anyone.

[Hillsdale87]

Klein's not even going to be a starter, and OSU can't go to a bowl. This doesn't seem like a case of a coach looking the other way because he's desperate to win at all costs. Klein won't mean that much, and even if he did, this is a lost season for OSU.

[Mutaman]

Originally Posted by Brutus

So let me get this straight, Doug, the woman says she wasn't hit, the court system recognizes this by dropping the domestic violence charges, and you think he should be punished even though the alleged victim and the law say the incident didn't happen?

That's a strange system of justice.

.

If "the incident didn't happen", what did he plead guilty to?

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by Brutus

So let me get this straight, Doug, the woman says she wasn't hit, the court system recognizes this by dropping the domestic violence charges, and you think he should be punished even though the alleged victim and the law say the incident didn't happen?

That's a strange system of justice.

Maybe she was and maybe he did, but she and the courts say otherwise. The kid should not be punished for something he was was cleared of doing... and please don't debate the term cleared, because it's semantics at this point. As far as the law is concerned, he didn't hit anyone.

In these types of cases, quite often, the woman decides to drop the charges after the fact. When that happens, I just tend to not believe it. Especially when this is in the article

A trial had been postponed until Sept. 24, but according to information presented by Klein's lawyer in Franklin County Municipal Court, the woman "wanted the charges dropped" and said that Klein "didn't hit her, didn't intend to hurt her."

So what did he do that hurt her, that he "didn't intend to do" that took her a while to change her mind on?

[guttle11]

They put "intend" in there because intending to hit someone is considered assault, not necessarily because he accidentally hurt her.

This is the nature of big time athletics, especially at public schools. They punish on what the courts find. Private schools, like what happened at Xavier, sometimes will follow their rules and not the courts. Public schools more often than not will let the case play out and then move forward.

[smith288]

It's a pretty sad indictment if people put so much into hating a coach of a football team for this.

[jojo]

Originally Posted by smith288

It's a pretty sad indictment if people put so much into hating a coach of a football team for this.

Hyperbole much?

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by smith288

It's a pretty sad indictment if people put so much into hating a coach of a football team for this.

I am an Ohio State fan. Have been my entire life. I don't hate Urban Meyer for this. I think he is full of crap over it. If he simply said "we are giving him a second chance", fine. I don't agree with it, but fine. But it was what he said that "angers" me about it.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

In these types of cases, quite often, the woman decides to drop the charges after the fact. When that happens, I just tend to not believe it. Especially when this is in the article

A trial had been postponed until Sept. 24, but according to information presented by Klein's lawyer in Franklin County Municipal Court, the woman "wanted the charges dropped" and said that Klein "didn't hit her, didn't intend to hurt her."

So what did he do that hurt her, that he "didn't intend to do" that took her a while to change her mind on?

I have seen this first hand so I know one situation that would describe that comment perfectly. Once, I was at a company party and everyone eventually left and I was the only one there. A guy and his wife were having an argument, which was sort of common. The guy had a temper, although he wasn't abusive, to his credit. He just directed his anger at objects rather than people. That night, she and he were both a little drunk but she started provoking him. She was slapping and throwing punches and trying to get him upset as she had been at odds with him for a few weeks. He pushed her back, with no malice but to push her back from the physical contact, and she fell over the coffee table and started bleeding.

She called the cops and wanted to have him arrested for domestic violence. If I had not been there, he might have been. But my statement corroborated he had no intent to harm her. Later, she apologized and said he didn't hit her or mean to hurt her and the case was dropped completely. That is absolutely a true story and so this particular story hits close to home because I've seen first hand a situation where the guy may well have not been guilty.

But according to you, if he were a football player, he should be kicked off because you "don't believe him."

In your system of justice, should everyone be presumed guilty even if they aren't found as such? Even if we subscribed to your anecdotal 75% of the time they're guilty, that means you say that 25% of the ones that were not guilty of anything, should be punished in their job or extracurricular activities just because you automatically assume everyone to be guilty.

Whether you believe him or not, people shouldn't be punished just because they were alleged to have done wrong. The legal system is set up to give people a fair trial. Klein went through the process and at the end of the day, it was determined he didn't hit her. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. But he should be given the benefit of the doubt.

[dougdirt]

Brutus, why did the girl change her story? This wasn't someone stepping forward who saw what happened, this was her, changing her story, well after the fact.

And let's be clear, I am bothered by what Urban Meyer said. While I am bothered by the events as well, I get letting him back on the team even if I don't agree with it. What I don't like is what Meyer said about the situation.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Brutus, why did the girl change her story? This wasn't someone stepping forward who saw what happened, this was her, changing her story, well after the fact.

And let's be clear, I am bothered by what Urban Meyer said. While I am bothered by the events as well, I get letting him back on the team even if I don't agree with it. What I don't like is what Meyer said about the situation.

She didn't do a mea culpa for about 2-3 weeks. But the cops were still investigating and thinking about pursuing charges and she started to feel bad that she lied.

I just don't get why Meyer's comments are bothersome. He suspended the player, waited out to see what happened with the legal system, and when it became clear the situation was not as bad as it originally seemed, he determined the player deserved a second chance.

I think it makes sense that a disorderly conduct charge carries much less severity than a domestic violence charge, yes? So why doesn't Meyer's comments seem consistent with gauging the severity?