Urban Meyer was asked directly for his message to Courtney Smith on Wednesday night, and he sidestepped it like you or I might if J.J. Watt was running directly at us.
“My message for everyone involved in this: I’m sorry that we’re in this situation,” he said. “I’m just sorry we’re in this situation.”
Of course, “this situation” is wildly different for “everyone” that’s in it. Meyer is waiting a 3-game suspension that came, according to Ohio State’s Board of Trustees, because he did not take proper action against an alleged serial spousal abuser and a walking human-relations nightmare. Courtney Smith’s “situation” is that, according to her, Zach Smith has abused her for close to a decade now.
Two days later, Meyer has tweeted a public apology to Courtney Smith and her children.
“My words and demeanor on Wednesday did not show how seriously I take relationship violence,” Meyer said. “…Let me say here and now what I should have said on Wednesday: I sincerely apologize to Courtney Smith and her children for what they have gone through.”
Of course, Meyer had ample opportunity Wednesday night to show Courtney Smith and the public how seriously he takes relationship violence, but his words conveyed the opposite of his core feelings, apparently.