For the third time this month, Urban Meyer has released a statement through his Twitter account. In fact, the last three messages he's sent his 1.96 million followers have been statements addressing or responding to his ongoing suspension, in which he will be required to remain away from the Ohio State team through Sunday -- thereby missing the No. 5 Buckeyes' opener against Oregon State on Saturday -- return to the team during the week, but miss the following games against Rutgers and No. 16 TCU.
Today's statement is simply a response to the criticism he has received over the past month, citing that the investigation found that he was not neglectful of Courtney Smith and did not lie at Big Ten media days.
Both of these statements, however, seem to contradict statements Meyer himself has made.
Last Friday, Meyer released a statement apologizing to Courtney Smith. "Let me say what I should have said Wednesday: I sincerely apologize to Courtney Smith and her children for what they have gone through."
That statement was a response to an avalanche of criticism he took on during last Wednesday's press conference in which he was asked to directly address Courtney Smith and sidestepped the question like a Spanish bull fighter.
The second portion of Meyer's statement runs in contrast to a statement Meyer released on Aug. 3, two days after he was placed on administrative leave. "My words, whether in reply to a reporter's question or in addressing a personnel issue, must be clear, compassion and most of all, completely accurate," he said. "Unfortunately, at Big Ten media days on July 24th, I failed on many of these fronts. My intention was not to say anything inaccurate or misleading. However, I was not adequately prepared to discuss these sensitive personnel issues with the media, and I apologize for the way I answered those questions."
Meyer's statement this Friday seems to admit his words were inaccurate without being intentionally so.
See it in full below.
What's left unaddressed in today's statement is whether or not Meyer believes he deserves to be suspended. He was asked that question directly last Wednesday and said, "I trust and support our president."
By the way, here's why Ohio State suspended Meyer for the first quarter of this season, because he failed "to take sufficient management action regarding Zach Smith and he was not as complete and accurate at Media Days and did not uphold the high standards and values of the university on that day."
Another significant development since last Wednesday: a member of the school's Board of Trustees resigned in protest of Meyer's 3-game suspension.
Ultimately, much of this saga and Meyer's knowledge therein will remain cloudy until he fully opens himself up to questioning, whether in a press conference setting or (in what seems the more likely outcome from this chair) a 1-on-1 interview with Tom Rinaldi or someone similar.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.