College football: Urban Meyer tolerated behavior for years

Urban Meyer may have weathered scandal at Ohio State, but not without a lasting stain as an exhaustive report detailed behavior that could easily have taken down a coach of lesser stature.

The investigation released soon after Meyer answered questions from reporters about his suspension Wednesday night showed that he tolerated bad behavior for years from assistant coach Zach Smith, including domestic-violence accusations, drug addiction, lies and other acts that directly clash with the values Meyer touts publicly.

The findings represent a new turn in the saga, showing how the superstar coach — who preaches “core values” such as honesty, treating women with respect and not using drugs or stealing — failed to live up to those ideals when handling several issues squarely within his control while dealing with the grandson of legendary Ohio State coach Earle Bruce.

Ohio State issued Meyer a relatively light, three game suspension — granting enough leeway to still let him prep the Buckeyes for two games they’re unlikely to lose. He will also lose six weeks of salary in a year he’s slate to earn $7.6 million under a deal that runs through 2022.

Etc.

New Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said his program will be “very open” to any inquiry into allegations of possible NCAA violations, but he is confident in how things have been handled since he arrived from Florida State. ...

Wisconsin receiver Quintez Cephus made his first court appearance on charges alleging that he sexually assaulted two drunken women this spring, a day after his attorneys asked the judge to dismiss one of the counts because they say the women weren’t as impaired as investigators allege. ...

Eight current or former Rutgers football players have been charged in an alleged credit card fraud scheme. ...

Louisiana State officials say the NCAA has reinstated junior defensive back Kristian Fulton. Fulton has served about 18 months of what was originally a two-year suspension for tampering with a drug test by allegedly substituting someone else’s urine sample for his own.