Ohio State is circling the wagons after putting Urban Meyer on paid administrative lead. They’ve canceled media availability for players and coaches.
The last thing Ohio State needs is a player or coach saying something to inflame the current controversy surrounding Urban Meyer. As such, University officials have elected to make both players and coaches off-limits to the media for the foreseeable future.
That means no one will be talking to the media as the Buckeyes start their preseason camp on Friday.
While the suspension of media availability is technically indefinite, University officials did indicate an update on the policy should be forthcoming on Monday. Some might perceive that as a sign the University believes the Meyer situation can be resolved by then. It’s more likely school officials realize they can’t keep players and coaches silent about football issues for a lengthy period.
At the moment, Meyer is still on paid administrative leave over the question of whether he was aware of domestic violence accusations leveled against a former assistant coach years before the University elected to take action against their former employee.
Ohio State has hired an independent group to investigate the circumstances surrounding Meyer’s involvement. No timeline has been set for the investigation to be complete or the results to be released to the public.
The real challenge for Ohio State officials will be keeping the player’s quest. Restricted their access to the media is one thing, but keeping the players silent on social media will be a much more difficult challenge. It’s unclear whether the coaches currently in charge of the Buckeyes program will be able to successfully navigate that challenge.
University officials are clearly engaged in damage control at the moment and keeping players and coaches out of the public eye is a solid step in that direction. Time will tell whether it will be enough to help this crisis start to lose steam.