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Topic: RE: What’s up with Smith?

Topic: RE: What’s up with Smith?

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OhioCatFan
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 2:29:01 PM

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

HeHateMiami wrote:

The article may overreach in spots, but she’s right about the core point: crisis-comms practice stresses owning the first version of the story even when you can’t disclose specifics.

I get your point broadly, but think you're missing a key point here: it's pretty obvious -- and everybody who is tapped into the rumor says the same -- that Smith did something bad. I don't know what, but everybody who hears rumors comes back here to basically say "oof, he's not coming back."

My personal sense -- which is just a guess -- is that the crisis actually doesn't arrive until the details come out. And that the actual PR battle they're waging is one with a goal of moving on from Smith without tons of very messy details coming out.

Based on the school's approach and based on the approach of Smith and his lawyer, it seems like both sides are pretty aligned on that. It's not like Smith's team is going scorched earth here trying to own the narrative. And this is a much bigger crisis for him than for OU.

I think that this is a good assessment based on the what we know now, coupled with a reasonable educated guess on your part.

I do believe that if this was less serious, they would be saying a tad more than they are. They better have a good plan in play when they do announce what's actually going down. This could get real messy quickly once the cat is out of the bag, because it probably won't be just what passes for local media that will be interested in this story. This could be ESPN and NYT "breaking news." I hope that I'm totally wrong, and that this story ends with whimper and not a bang. (Apologies to T.S. Elliot for bastardizing his quote.)

Edited to comply with BA's strict grammatical standards.

Last Edited: 12/8/2025 3:30:41 PM by OhioCatFan

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GoCats105
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 3:04:45 PM

OhioCatFan wrote:

They better have a good plan in play when they do announce what's actually going down. This could get real messy quickly once the cats out of the bag, because it probably won't be just what passes for local media that will be interested in this story. This could be ESPN and NYT "breaking news." I hope that I'm totally wrong, and that this story ends with whimper and not a bang. (Apologies to T.S. Elliot for bastardizing his quote.)

How many cats do you have left in that bag?

HeHateMiami
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 3:13:53 PM

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

Totally hear you, and I’m not arguing that this is minor or that he’s coming back. My point is that speculation is exactly what a better initial statement is meant to prevent. You even said yourself that “everybody who’s heard the rumor thinks he's not coming back,” and that’s precisely why schools usually provide at least some guardrails about the category of situation even when they can’t share details.

Vague announcements create vacuums, and vacuums get filled with the worst possible assumptions. If OU’s long-term goal is a clean separation, fine. But even then, a little more clarity up front keeps the conversation grounded in facts instead of whispers. I have zero knowledge of any allegations, rumors, or whether Coach Smith is likely to return. My point is purely about communication strategy, and on that front, OU hasn’t handled this well.

ohiocatfan1
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 3:17:18 PM

M.D.W.S.T wrote:

HeHateMiami wrote:

That’s the middle ground OU didn’t use. You obviously can’t share allegations, but you can responsibly tell people what kind of situation this is or isn’t. If the intent was to protect Smith’s privacy, the ambiguity is doing him a disservice.

Been my gripe all along.

The vagueness has allowed all these things people keep saying isn't happening, to happen.

Nothing has happened in the last week, we've learned nothing, no bombshell reports, no charges, no allegations made by outside parties, no reason as far as the eye can see for a forced release. They're not covering their ass or protecting anyones privacy, on the contrary, they've opened him up to embarrassment and scrutiny while everyone now knows some sort of perceived wrongdoing and investigation into such is ongoing.

The only thing we now all know is he's going through a nasty divorce, he's trying to liquidate or protect some assets, he's trying to purchase a home, this involves his child. All things I'm certain he didn't want brought up on online forums and sports websites.

As far as Brian is concerned, he's probably feeling like his new AD, and the University aren't on his side and DID NOT protect his privacy. Which is going to leave a really bad taste in his mouth if he's brought back.

IF he is fired, and some of the rumors are true, OU didn't protect itself from scrutiny for the vague response, you're just open to more. No one is going to be like, WOW OU really nailed this. They're gonna say you put out a vague report attempting to cover your ass, and didn't, while you knew he did xyz. Making it public that you're investigating him for (secrets), isn't going to change the language around being fired for cause. It's just fodder for this board to say, I trust the lawyers. This is pr 101.

Brian Smith is free to provide information on this leave of absence at any time.

OhioCatFan
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 3:25:40 PM

duplicate deleted

Last Edited: 12/8/2025 3:30:02 PM by OhioCatFan

OhioCatFan
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 3:27:21 PM

GoCats105 wrote:

OhioCatFan wrote:

They better have a good plan in play when they do announce what's actually going down. This could get real messy quickly once the cat is out of the bag, because it probably won't be just what passes for local media that will be interested in this story. This could be ESPN and NYT "breaking news." I hope that I'm totally wrong, and that this story ends with whimper and not a bang. (Apologies to T.S. Elliot for bastardizing his quote.)

How many cats do you have left in that bag?

Edit made. Thanks for your continued proofreading. I really appreciated it. I would have hired you as my proofreader in an New York minute!

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 3:36:37 PM

HeHateMiami wrote:

Vague announcements create vacuums, and vacuums get filled with the worst possible assumptions.

I don't disagree. But I think there's another more relevant vacuum here: Athens is a media vacuum. There's very little media coverage of Ohio University sports. The university undoubtedly takes advantage of that.

And I think that folks here -- who are in a massive minority as people who care enough about Ohio University sports to engage about them online -- have a tendency to forget just how targeted and fragmented the online media landscape is. We're seeing rumors and so people here post that his is "taking on a life of its own" or whatever.

But statistically speaking, nobody cares about this and the rumors & speculation have virtually no reach whatsoever. There have been some reddit threads, the thread here, a couple of wire stories.

But it's story #89 in the college football world right now and there's no doubt at all that OU's media strategy leans into that reality.

HeHateMiami wrote:

If OU’s long-term goal is a clean separation, fine. But even then, a little more clarity up front keeps the conversation grounded in facts instead of whispers.

My guess is that they don't care even a tiny bit about the whispers. Whispers in a media vacuum just don't matter all that much.

Last Edited: 12/8/2025 3:37:52 PM by Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame

Mike Coleman
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 3:39:34 PM

HeHateMiami wrote:

Mike Coleman wrote:

SBH wrote:

Well-written column but a bit naive. Does the author expect the university to specify the allegations, which might be utterly unfounded? Imagine the damage to the coach's/program's reputation (and recruiting) if they turn out to be false. It's hard to write this, but I trust the lawyers on this one.

I agree. Well written, but... You can also tell her major was corporate PR with little or any legal reporting experience. Often, it's not the accused withholding publicity of allegations but the alleged victim. Saying that generally not specifically to the instance necessarily.

But there’s a massive middle ground between “tell us everything” and “say almost nothing,” and that’s where OU fell short. The vague initial statement “on leave for an undetermined period of time” with no framing whatsoever left the public to fill in the blanks. Some people assumed a health issue, others assumed possible NCAA violations, and within hours the rumor mill was digging for divorce documents, reporting on homes being put on the market and inventing narratives the school never intended.

The article may overreach in spots, but she’s right about the core point: crisis-comms practice stresses owning the first version of the story even when you can’t disclose specifics.

Other schools have handled this much better without violating anyone’s rights.

Washington’s softball program put Heather Tarr on leave last year and immediately said it was a personnel matter, not a safety issue and not NCAA-related. That single sentence kept speculation contained.

Baylor did the same with an assistant football coach: they said it was a non-criminal personnel issue and confirmed there were no student-athlete safety concerns. They didn’t reveal anything sensitive, but they set guardrails so the public understood the basic category of issue.

Both coaches ultimately returned after their reviews concluded.

That’s the middle ground OU didn’t use. You obviously can’t share allegations, but you can responsibly tell people what kind of situation this is or isn’t. If the intent was to protect Smith’s privacy, the ambiguity is doing him a disservice.

I absolutely agree.

BryanHall
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 4:41:17 PM

GoCats105 wrote:

OhioCatFan wrote:

How many cats do you have left in that bag?

Maybe the athletic department can sell cat bags to raise NIL money. I'd buy one that says 2024 MAC Champions.

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 4:54:46 PM

BryanHall wrote:

GoCats105 wrote:

OhioCatFan wrote:

How many cats do you have left in that bag?

Maybe the athletic department can sell cat bags to raise NIL money. I'd buy one that says 2024 MAC Champions.

This is going to backfire massively when we find out that Smith threw a bag full of kittens into the Hocking.

Scott Woods
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 5:08:21 PM

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

BryanHall wrote:

GoCats105 wrote:

OhioCatFan wrote:

How many cats do you have left in that bag?

Maybe the athletic department can sell cat bags to raise NIL money. I'd buy one that says 2024 MAC Champions.

This is going to backfire massively when we find out that Smith threw a bag full of kittens into the Hocking.

"Cats feeding fish" instead of Albin's "Cats feeding dogs"?

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Victory
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 6:22:26 PM

ohiocatfan1 wrote:

Brian Smith is free to provide information on this leave of absence at any time.

Yeah, I think we need to keep this is mind. His lawyer claims that he doesn't know why he was put on leave but, in all likelihood, he probably has at least an idea.

The University would not have done this if they were not close 100% certain that they were going to fire him and, n all probability, 90%+ plus sure that they could fire him with cause.

There was situation a few years ago where Miami's women's basketball coach was fired because she allegedly had an affair with a player. Miami dismissed her with cause and she wound up not contesting it. The school was not going to release the reason but, I recall, someone leaked it because they probably didn't want any future schools to not know why. We don't know what happened but it is doubtful that he University will ever officially let us know what happened unless it is forced upon them in a lawsuit or something.

While there are people who have their belief in rumors, I think we should all also keep in mind that it might be something that isn't that bad in most contexts but still absolutely imperative that the school acts. An example might be that They have near irrefutable evidence that he placed a $15000 bet on Ohio beating Miami this year. But he is, again, free to release what he knows about the accusations at any time.

Last Edited: 12/8/2025 6:23:48 PM by Victory

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 7:11:03 PM

Victory wrote:

ohiocatfan1 wrote:

Brian Smith is free to provide information on this leave of absence at any time.

This is well said and I agree.

People keep tossing out the phrase "crisis comms" and talking about the crisis comms playbook.

But they seem to be missing that this is a much, much bigger crisis for Smith. And his camp isn't making any effort to control the narrative or even respond at all.

The University is giving him the option to go quietly. Despite what his lawyer claimed last week, there's a 0% chance Smith is actually in the dark here. If that were the case, his lawyers would be raising hell about this, releasing statements left and right about the lack of insight, and threatening lawsuits. The guy's professional reputation and future earning potential is very much at risk here.

Given the lack of action on his part, it seems like he's gonna take them up on the leave quietly option. The silence on Smith's part is much more relevant here than the silence on OU's part.

Last Edited: 12/8/2025 7:13:19 PM by Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame

HeHateMiami
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 7:56:03 PM

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

Athens is a media vacuum. There's very little media coverage of Ohio University sports. The university undoubtedly takes advantage of that.

A small media footprint doesn’t remove the need for a baseline level of clarity. If anything, it means OU has to create the context themselves because there aren’t many seasoned reporters doing it for them.

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

But they seem to be missing that this is a much, much bigger crisis for Smith. And his camp isn't making any effort to control the narrative or even respond at all.

Whether this is a bigger crisis for Smith doesn’t change the communication standard. Schools don’t adjust transparency based on who’s most affected; they still give the basic guardrails that prevent speculation.

Smith’s silence also isn’t evidence of anything. Most employees under review say nothing on legal advice.

My point remains the same:
OU could have communicated this more effectively without violating privacy, and the way they handled it allowed speculation to take root unnecessarily.

Bobcatbucnut
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 8:00:57 PM

A lot of opinions that don’t understand the process. This is not a court of law, different rules, it may end up in a court of law, see Pat Fitzgerald’s case. Northwestern lost millions. A decision has not been made yet! Having myself been on paid leave for a bs claim. I was advised by my attorney to let the process happen and that I would get due process. It is extremely difficult to sit quietly when you know it is bs and you feel the need to defend yourself. His silence means nothing either way, part of the process. Smith speaking in public can jeopardize the investigation. He will have his say when the time is right. He may choose to take the path of least resistance and walk quietly, he may be reinstated and want to tell his side but may be told to stay silent by his attorney. It is easy to say what should be done and what you would do, but if you haven’t been through this, you just don’t understand. I am no expert but have personally been through the process. My situation was very similar to what is happening, no one knew anything, I was reinstated, and I never told my story except for those sitting at the table. I hope for all involved that the truth is found, the innocent are vindicated, and the guilty are held accountable.

mid70sbobcat
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 9:26:41 PM

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

Victory wrote:

ohiocatfan1 wrote:

Brian Smith is free to provide information on this leave of absence at any time.

I'll play devil's advocate here. You say 0% chance that he is in the dark. If so, then why was (or is) he planning to close on a house in 7 days? And as of today, his request for an expedited hearing over having access to some of the shared investments, is scheduled for tomorrow morning.

OhioCatFan
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/8/2025 11:48:21 PM

mid70sbobcat wrote:

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

Victory wrote:

ohiocatfan1 wrote:

Brian Smith is free to provide information on this leave of absence at any time.

I suspect that this divorce stuff, and I think that that is what all of these filings are about, has next to nothing to do with whatever it was that he is being accused of by the university.

Andrew Ruck
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/9/2025 8:17:07 AM

Victory wrote:

ohiocatfan1 wrote:

Brian Smith is free to provide information on this leave of absence at any time.

Yeah, I think we need to keep this is mind. His lawyer claims that he doesn't know why he was put on leave but, in all likelihood, he probably has at least an idea.

Yup. The released statement from Smith/Lawyer acting totally mystified pissed me off. Give me a break.

Andrew Ruck
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M.D.W.S.T
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/9/2025 9:03:36 AM

OhioCatFan wrote:

mid70sbobcat wrote:

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

Victory wrote:

ohiocatfan1 wrote:

Brian Smith is free to provide information on this leave of absence at any time.

I suspect that this divorce stuff, and I think that that is what all of these filings are about, has next to nothing to do with whatever it was that he is being accused of by the university.

Heres hoping rumors are just that, and they're forcing him to take some time to solve what is turning out to be quite a messy, public divorce.

Unfortunately, the big picture (if you believe the rumors) all makes sense, but if it's all speculation and rumors... then good lord... this dude has the shittiest luck of all time. When it rains, its a torrential downpour.

Cats5
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/9/2025 10:52:40 AM

M.D.W.S.T wrote:

OhioCatFan wrote:

mid70sbobcat wrote:

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

Victory wrote:

ohiocatfan1 wrote:

Brian Smith is free to provide information on this leave of absence at any time.

I suspect that this divorce stuff, and I think that that is what all of these filings are about, has next to nothing to do with whatever it was that he is being accused of by the university.

I just don't understand the timing I guess. If it truly is something that the university takes as a big deal, why did they wait until the end of the regular season to put him on leave? That's why I feel like whatever is being investigated isn't job loss worth??? But I have no clue of the rumor that has been going around that our "insiders" have so take that for what it's worth.

OhioCatFan
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/9/2025 10:54:13 AM

M.D.W.S.T wrote:

OhioCatFan wrote:

mid70sbobcat wrote:

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

Victory wrote:

ohiocatfan1 wrote:

Brian Smith is free to provide information on this leave of absence at any time.

I suspect that this divorce stuff, and I think that that is what all of these filings are about, has next to nothing to do with whatever it was that he is being accused of by the university.

I'm not sure "luck" is the right word here.

BillyTheCat
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/9/2025 10:57:38 AM

Victory wrote:

ohiocatfan1 wrote:

Brian Smith is free to provide information on this leave of absence at any time.

So if the University is so “certain” as you say, why did they suspend the wrestling coach and staff and then retain them all?

BillyTheCat
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/9/2025 11:00:16 AM

Bobcatbucnut wrote:

1000% agreed

Alaska Cat
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/9/2025 6:40:10 PM

Does the school have a contingency plan, for a permanent coach if Brian is not back?
Have they privately already hired a different (and next coach)?

Has someone behind the scenes been talking to portal players, and players already signed?

If not, this can set the teams' future years behind.

This situation and the way OU has handled it, is definitely already detrimental to next years team.

BobcatsWin
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RE: What’s up with Smith?

Posted: 12/9/2025 6:47:23 PM

Child custody, shared parenting, and divorce all finalized? If the leave of absence was solely to get these affairs in order, then shame on all of us for speculating and spreading rumors. I hope that’s the case and I hope Coach is quick to forgive. Here’s to hoping for the best!

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