City Meyer mentioned he was unaware till lately that a picture of Trayvon Martin was utilized in a 2017 staff assembly throughout his tenure as Ohio State coach — after he initially denied the declare.
“I didn’t find out about it till one hour in the past, till after speaking to [former OSU safety Tyvis Powell],” Meyer informed the Columbus Dispatch in a narrative printed Wednesday. “I wasn’t there [in the meeting]. Not one of the coaches have been current. It was a assist staffer who was in error and apologized.”
Two days prior, Meyer vehemently denied he used a photograph of Martin in one in every of his conferences — an accusation made by Buckeyes cornerback Marcus Williamson in a Twitter thread on Jan. 1.
Williamson, now a fifth-year senior at OSU, claimed the picture of Martin was used as a visible support on a PowerPoint to implement this system’s “no hoodies” coverage.
Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla., in 2012. The 17-year-old was sporting a hooded sweatshirt on the time. After his demise, NBA stars together with Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James wore hooded sweatshirts to honor Martin.
Powell, who performed for Meyer at OSU from 2013 to 2015, tweeted in regards to the scenario on Monday.
“Acquired the knowledge relating to the Trayvon Martin scenario. It was introduced in a freshman assembly relating to the ‘no hoods’ within the constructing rule. Afterwards it was identified how offensive it was to all people & the individual in cost issued an apology & they settle for it,” Powell tweeted.
“The gamers I’ve talked to mentioned the individual in cost was really uneducated on that scenario & actually didn’t have any concept the story behind the picture. So Marcus isn’t telling a lie about that. It was one thing that was dealt with in personal. I nonetheless stand on my racial stance of OSU.”
On Monday, Meyer defined the staff’s “no hoodie” rule whereas addressing the scenario for the primary time.
“Our staff rule was no hats or hoodies or sun shades of any form however solely in staff conferences, simply so we might see their eyes and ensure they have been paying consideration and never asleep,” Meyer informed Ohio State reporter Jeff Shook.
On the time, Meyer denied the picture was used earlier than recanting the declare a couple of days later.
“We didn't, and by no means would present an image of Trayvon Martin,” Meyer informed Shook. “My gosh, no. That's completely false and you may test with another participant on my groups throughout that point to substantiate what I'm saying. Different gamers know what he's saying is fake. I'd by no means try this. He's crossing the road right here. It appears persons are simply piling on now. However that by no means occurred.”
Former OSU security Joshua Perry, who performed underneath Meyer, defended this system and complimented Meyer as a head coach.
“Noticed a former Buckeye brother sharing about his profession final evening. We will get into the free labor economic system of CFB as a complete, however portray OSU as racist ain’t it,” Perry tweeted Sunday.
“And City was a troublesome ass coach, however he all the time invested in us as gamers and other people. Only a window into my expertise.”
Meyer, who coached at OSU from 2012 to 2018, received a nationwide championship with the Buckeyes in 2014 earlier than retiring in December 2018 as a result of well being causes.
Final December, Meyer was fired as head coach of the Jaguars after a 2-11 report. A string of unfavorable headlines additionally contributed to his dismissal.
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