Critics pounce after Ohio State posts ‘tone deaf’ football graphic about ‘silence’
Many universities do what they can to pump up their fans before a big game, so it was no surprise when Ohio State University posted a graphic ramping up for its Saturday game against Penn State.
It didn’t go as planned.
The graphic features player Austin Mack in a white background holding his finger to his mouth in a “shush” pose. Above him, the word “silence” is emblazoned in a red box.
Above the graphic, the university wrote “Silence the white noise. #GoBucks #WinTheMoment.”
The intent of the message seemed to be related to Penn State’s “white out” match on Saturday, where Nittany Lions fans wear white to the stadium. The event is a major recruiting event for the school, the Morning Call Reported.
But Twitter users and fans didn’t think the graphic came out quite the way the university might have intended. The university is still dealing with fallout from allegations Ohio State coach Urban Meyer overlooked evidence of domestic abuse — and many on Twitter said the graphic was “tone deaf” and a mistake.
It wasn’t just on Twitter, either.
“Yes, this might be “just” an ad. But given what Ohio State has been confronted with in recent months, silence is nothing to be prized, and it’s certainly nothing to promote,” wrote sports columnist Nancy Armour for USA Today.
The university has not commented on the controversy, and the graphic remains posted on its Twitter timeline as well as in the banner on its page.
The story behind the controversy centers on Meyer, who was suspended for three games after allegations emerged that he had potentially mishandled reports of domestic abuse by former assistant coach Zach Smith, ESPN reported.
The allegations arose after a report from journalist Brett McMurphy on Aug. 1 that alleged Smith’s wife had messaged Meyer’s wife about alleged domestic violence, and the messages indicated Urban Meyer knew about it.
Those messages were dated to 2015, three years before Smith was fired on July 23, 2018, according to the Dayton Daily News.
A report from the school later determined that “although neither Urban Meyer nor (athletic director) Gene Smith condoned or covered up the alleged domestic abuse by Zach Smith, they failed to take sufficient management action relating to Zach Smith’s misconduct and retained an Assistant Coach who was not performing as an appropriate role model for OSU student-athletes,” according to USA Today.
Meyer was suspended for three games and apologized, saying he wished he “did a better job knowing things and finding out things,” according to the paper.