OSU Football coach Urban Meyer’s players have been less than model citizens this offseason
The recent actions of a few players, including featured players Carlos Hyde and Bradley Roby, have marred the public perception of Ohio State football. In addition to Hyde and Roby, freshmen Tim Gardner and Marcus Baugh have been arrested within the last ten days. This certainly is not an ideal situation for a university whose image is still in repair mode stemming from the 2010 “Tattoo-Gate” scandal that got five players suspended and then-head coach Jim Tressel fired.
New Head Coach Urban Meyer had the Buckeye Nation in high hopes for this upcoming season, following his undefeated campaign in his inaugural season with the team last year. But the recent run-ins with the law from some of the players have dampened some of those hopes, as their actions have reflected poorly on the university and will affect the team on the field as they are removed as playable options for disciplinary reasons.
The four recent arrests are made more alarming with the fact that all four were separate incidents and within the same time frame. There was an earlier incident in which linebacker David Perkins was kicked off of the team for being arrested on multiple charges including trespassing and underage drinking, but that could be seen as an isolated incident back in May. The same cannot say about the events that have transpired in the last two weeks.
On July 20, Ohio State’s star running back Carlos Hyde has been selected as a “person of interest” in the assault of a woman at a bar in downtown Columbus. While he has not officially been charged, he has been identified as present in the incident. As of right now, Hyde has been suspended from all football activities.
On July 21, Ohio State’s All-American defensive back Bradley Roby was arrested and charged with battery after having to be physically detained by the security guards following an incident at a Bloomington, IL bar. He has been removed from Big Ten Media Day and has been suspended indefinitely.
Two Ohio State freshmen have also found themselves in legal trouble as linebacker Tim Gardner was removed from the team for being charged with obstruction of official business and tight end Marcus Baugh has been suspended from the team for underage possession of alcohol and a fake ID.
Coach Urban Meyer has dealt with these types of problems since the legal troubles of his former team, the Florida Gators, and they have been magnified as of late stemming from the ongoing murder investigation of Aaron Hernandez.