Urban Meyer has dominated sports headlines today as reports have surfaced that he knew about the domestic violence allegations against wide receivers coach Zach Smith. In wake of these headlines, and Meyer being placed on administrative leave, I would like to share my thoughts on Ohio State’s head coach.
He is one of the kindest people I’ve had the privilege of meeting.
I first came in contact with him at the age of fifteen, when I attended the Tim Tebow Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic. I was watching from the tee box of the sixteenth hole. He was the last golfer to come to the hole that day. It had been a long day; sun beat down hotly before turning into a rain shower. I was nervous to meet him- I’d watched him coach for years, and the way he pushed his team to success served as my motivation as I went through the numerous challenges cerebral palsy brings.
The first thing he said to me? “I’m going to give you a big hug.” And then he did exactly that.
Because of my disability, I need help standing, and he didn’t hesitate to give me support as we took a picture. He complimented the leg braces I wore, and the kindness and warmth he treated me with immediately put me at ease. As we talked, one thing struck me above anything else: more than anything else, he’s a father.
A year later, I saw him again at the Celebrity Golf Classic, when the foundation invited me to speak at the Celebrity Gala. My father was with me, and not long after I spoke, left the room momentarily. What he told me when he came back blew me away: I just talked to Urban Meyer. He said he remembers you and he’s going to come talk to you.”
Sure enough, I looked up a few minutes later to see Coach Meyer heading towards me, with his wife right beside him. When he saw me, he pumped his arms in the air, a smile crossing his face. Once he was close, he reached out and pulled me into a warm hug before pulling up a chair and taking a seat across from me.
He and his wife stayed and talked with me for at least thirty minutes. They were incredibly down to Earth and sincere. Coach Meyer joked with and teased me as if I were his own daughter, and the conversation I had with he and Ms. Shelley is one of my favorite memories from that night.
He’s always been like that. Each time I see him, he goes out of his way to give me a bear hug, and talk with me, regardless of what else is going on around us. He wants to know how I’m doing, and it’s obvious to me that his interest and care is genuine. Last March, when I told him I liked a wristband he was wearing, he took it off and gave it to me, without hesitation or a second thought.
Urban Meyer is more than the news headlines circulating about him right now. He’s a man of faith who genuinely cares about the people around him and wants the best for them. There is more to this story, another side that hasn’t been told yet. And while I don’t know what happened in Columbus, I do know that Urban Meyer has touched the lives of a lot of people, including mine.
A Day in the Life of Robyn 