Ohio State’s decision to suspend head football coach Urban Meyer for only three games was controversial, to say the least. One man who’s spoken out on the manner is former NFL Draft bust, Ryan Leaf.
Leaf took to Twitter on Wednesday to denounce the decision shortly after it was made.
Accountability… Meyer's comments at Big Ten media day: "While those denials were plainly not accurate, Coach Meyer did not in our view deliberately lie." It’s a privilege to Coach college football, not a right. @OhioState just showed those kids it’s ok to lie & victim shame!!
— Ryan D Leaf (@RyanDLeaf) August 23, 2018
On Thursday, he went on the “Rich Eisen Show” and expanded on his opinion. In doing so, Leaf acknowledged his own checkered past, noting that it gives him a “unique perspective.”
“Let’s put it this way, I have a unique perspective on it. I was a college coach, and I messed up,” he said in the interview. “And I found a way to deal with the consequences and be better. But I have been asked the question lately. If someone offered me a coaching job, would I take it? My answer is, I don’t know if I deserve it. I don’t know if a parent could trust me with their child, because of my past mistakes. Those are the consequences to that. Coaching in college is not a right. It’s a privilege.”
Leaf even acknowledged that coaches frequently lie to the media. But said that the content of the lie was what bothered him.
It’s certainly easy to see why so many people are bothered with this. Leaf’s perspective is unique. His past is far from clean and obviously, he knows that. And with that, he also knows that winning football games isn’t necessarily the most important thing.
Leaf is certainly not alone in his criticism. In the coming days and weeks, expect to hear more people speaking out against Meyer and Ohio State. The talks will likely heat up again once Meyer is set to return.