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Ohio coach Urban Meyer returned to the sidelines last week after a three-game suspension for mishandling spousal assault allegations against a former assistant. (Jay LaPrete / AP)
Bieler
Sports journalist covering national topics, as well as support for coverage of teams in the DC region
The Ohio State football program on Thursday removed a tweet it had posted the day before and contained an image and message criticized as inappropriate. Promising a road match on Saturday at Penn State, the tweet showed a Buckeyes player making a dizzying gesture, with a phrase above him: "Silence".
The tweet was subtitled, "Silence the white noise," and OSU officials said the message was meant to reflect the team's goal of calming the noisy, white crowd expected at Penn State. Critics accused the program of being deaf at a time when head football coach, Urban Meyer, was involved in a controversy over the treatment of allegations of domestic assault against a former assistant. a former team doctor.
In addition, the Penn State football program was seriously tarnished by a child sexual exploitation scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and the conference at which schools played the role of Big Ten. Dr. Larry Nassar has sexually abused hundreds of girls for decades. Each case served as a lesson not only in the importance of the victims, but in the roles that the people in important positions have too often played to ignore or repress the victims' complaints.
"Even if it's a game, in the light of tOSU's domestic violence and sexual assault scandals, that's inappropriate," said Brenda Tracy, who survived a gang rape of college footballers. and sexual violence, said on Twitter of the graph displayed by the Buckeyes. "Messaging matters."
After removing the tweet, the Buckeyes would have published another explaining this decision, but have also deleted. The tweet m said"As we did in the past and in preparation for Saturday's match, we sent a message to our fans via social media. The message was interpreted in a way that we had absolutely no intention and we removed it from our chains. We understand why people were critical.
"This message is the same as the one we used before the 2016 whitening match at Penn State," OSU spokesman Jerry Emig told ESPN on Thursday. "And this message is directed to our team to play really well to silence an incredible crowd of white at Penn State."
In last week's Buckeyes home win against Tulane, Meyer was out for the first time this season after serving a three-game suspension. OSU imposed the sentence in August following an investigation into the coach's treatment of the charges against former assistant Zach Smith by a woman who is now Smith's former wife.
The investigation found that Meyer did not actively attempt to conceal incidents of spousal abuse over several years, but repeatedly turned a blind eye to the warning signs of Smith's grandson's behavior. from the former Buckeyes coach Earle Bruce. a mentor to Meyer.
"Over the years, we have worked hard to educate our coaches and players about the seriousness of relationship violence. I understand that my lack of action in this situation has raised concerns about this commitment, "Meyer said in a statement last month. "I apologize again and express my empathy to all the women, men and families affected by the violence in relationships.
"It has been a real learning experience for me," he added at the time. "I intend to use my voice more effectively to be part of the solution."
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