In another addition to the ever-spanning saga of Ohio State-Urban Meyer-Zach Smith-Brett McMurphy, another shot has been fired. Earlier this week, we saw Zach Smith’s return to twitter, attacking Tom Herman and McMurphy. Today, McMurphy posted a new set of findings in an article at his new platform, Stadium. This new article, which details an alleged incident in which Smith called then Ohio State WR Trevon Grimes a racial slur.
Predictably, the article brought a firestorm of reaction through various media channels. The irony being that a lot of it is falling on McMurphy himself. Many are beginning to wonder if McMurphy has a vendetta against Meyer and that is why he keeps coming back with more information. Throughout the article, McMurphy states that an altercation between Grimes and Smith occurred following the alleged slur.
This in turn has led to Oho State players rushing to the defense of the program. The main consensus seems to be that while the altercation happened, the racial slur did not. Naturally, this has led some to question the credibility of McMurphy’s report.
Now, regardless of ones personal feelings about McMurphy, it is hard to believe he would falsify facts. He is very good at his job, and has been for a long time, routinely beating ESPN reporters even after being fired by the company. As many have realized, McMurphy is putting his credibility (and likely his job) on the line with this article. If proven false, Stadium will likely have no choice but to fire him, given some of the damning accusations presented in the piece.
So Now What?
At this point, one has to believe that at least some of the information presented is true, given how accurate McMurphy has been in regards to all of the Ohio State information this fall. That being said, it definitely feels like there is more to this story than is being let on. Too many things do not add up, including the role of the parents in the story. Is the father of Grimes in the picture or not? Was the cancer of his mother faked (as alluded to)? And finally, why won’t Grimes himself come forward to clarify the story?
At this juncture, it is hard to truly take anyone at their word. Ohio State has given people no reason to trust them, McMurphy may just be on the warpath, and no one knows what is going on with the Grimes family. It is very doubtful that we have heard the last of this story, and I would not be shocked to see new information come up as soon as the end of the week.
As much as it seems like McMurphy is out for Urban Meyer’s blood, I can’t see him faking information like this. He is a good journalist, and smart enough not to risk his career on a wild goose chase. The man works so hard he was posted stories off his Facebook while unemployed. That being said, I have been wrong before, but I feel like there is a lot more information coming before this is settled.
And we will likely get another Zach Smith rant out of it, so go figure.