An Ohio State board member resigned from his post in protest of the school's punishment of Urban Meyer.
Jeffrey Wadsworth vacated his seat on Ohio State's 20 member Board of Trustees because, in his view, the punishment was too lenient.
As Wadsworth told the New York Times, the 11-hour meeting last Wednesday began with remarks from Ohio State president Michael V. Drake and then went around the room as each trustee gave their opinion on the Buckeyes' sixth-year coach. Wadsworth actually left the meeting during a midday break because, he said, it was clear that nothing more than a short suspension was on the table.
“I felt that getting into a limited number of games that was a suspension missed the point of a bigger cultural concern about ‘What message were we sending?’" he told the Times.
At just past 9 p.m. ET last Wednesday, Ohio State announced it had suspended Meyer for the first three games of this season. Wadsworth, a retired engineering executive, did not learn of the verdict until it was publicly announced. He says he emailed Drake and board chairman Michael Gasser an hour after the announcement to tender his resignation.
Ohio State noted a number of inconsistencies with Meyer's version of events and eyebrow-raising actions during the time investigators examined -- including discussion with associate AD Brian Voltolini about wiping any texts older than a year from his phone -- but did not find cause to fire him. Unspoken in last Wednesday's announcement is Meyer's contract called for a $38 million buyout should he be fired without cause.
Wadsworth did not tell the Times what punishment he would have administered to Meyer if given the chance, saying just that it should have been more "profound."