Urban Meyer's daughter and wife ran to play a little defense for the beleaguered Jacksonville Jaguars football coach after he was caught groping a young woman's backside in a pair of viral videos.
'As much of our lives might seem different to everybody else's we're still human,' said Gigi Meyer, the coach's daughter, via Instagram Thursday. 'The good news is we know my dad and we know his character and he's literally the most incredible person I know in my entire life.'
She said that the family has decided to 'move on' from the controversy, and that she has the 'most incredible family in the world.'
Her mother also backed her husband of 37 years.
'We all make mistakes, we are all sinners,' Shelley Meyers tweeted Thursday. 'If you think you aren't? Then cast the first stone.'
'As much of our lives might seem different to everybody else's we're still human,' said Gigi Meyer via Instagram today. 'The good news is we know my dad and we know his character and he's literally the most incredible person I know in my entire life.' She said that the family has decided to 'move on' from the controversy, and that she has the 'most incredible family in the world'
Urban Meyer and Shelley Mather Meyer arrive at the Fanatics Super Bowl Party at the College Football Hall of Fame on January 5, 2019 in Atlanta
The wife of Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer is defending him after he was caught groping a young woman's backside in a pair of viral videos. 'We all make mistakes-we are all sinners,' Shelley, Meyer's wife of 37 years, tweeted Thursday. 'If you think you aren't? Then cast the first stone'
Shelley's decision to defend her husband follows his own statements on Wednesday, when he characterized the incident as a 'speed bump' in their marriage.
'I don't want to get into our personal life but 37 years we've been together and it's been awesome, man,' Meyer told reporters. 'And this speed bump's not going to get in the way of that.'
The first viral video shows a young woman dancing between Meyer's legs as he was sitting on a stool in a bar he owns in Columbus, Ohio. The second, taken from a different angle, shows Meyer's right hand on or near her bottom.
A video showing a blonde woman dancing in close proximity to Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer has become viral on Twitter
Shelley also said she would be quitting twitter due to the abuse she says she's received since the videos went viral.
'This will be my last post on Twitter,' she wrote. 'Frankly, I don't need the hate, vitriol, slander, trash that will @ me (this has never stopped anyway).
'To my wonderful followers/friends: THANK YOU. For your love, support, friendship, laughs-I will miss this the most. I love you ALL and wish God's blessings on you. Thank you.
'PS I will be deleting right as I post this so I will not see responses. Much love!'
Meyer apologized to his players at a team meeting earlier this week for embarrassing them and Shelley. NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala reported.
Meyer, a legendary former college coach who is just four games into his NFL career, has stressed that he has not considered resigning.
As Meyer explained to reporters this week, he previously notified the team that he would be skipping last Thursday's flight home following the Jaguars' game in Cincinnati, which they lost to the Bengals.
Instead of returning to Jacksonville, Meyer planned on visiting his grandchildren in Columbus, where he coached the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2011 until 2018 and won a national championship in 2014.
Friday night, Meyer was seen at a bar he owns, Urban Meyer's Pint House, which is where he was recorded in the two viral videos.
Shelley made it clear that she was aware of the incident, tweeting 'meanwhile, I am babysitting' and posting pictures of her grandchildren taking a bath.
'I kinda wonder something: Do fans recognize how incredibly unusual it was for Urban Meyer to not fly home with the team last week?' tweeted The Athletic's Stephen Holder. 'Like, in 16 years on the NFL beat, I can't recall a situation remotely similar.'
Wife Shelley Meyer shared pictures of herself playing with her two grandchildren and captioned them 'Meanwhile I am babysitting #MyChoice #MimiRules #BuddyDeservedANightOut.'
Meyer claimed Wednesday that he discussed missing the team flight 'way in advance' with general manager Trent Baalke.
The Jaguars (0-4) have lost 19 consecutive games, seven shy of tying the NFL record set by Tampa Bay in 1977. Meyer insists they have shown dramatic improvements since Week 1.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan has publicly reprimanded Meyer for the coach's 'inexcusable' behavior.
'I have addressed this matter with Urban. Specifics of our conversation will be held in confidence. What I will say is his conduct last weekend was inexcusable,' Khan said.
'I appreciate Urban's remorse, which I believe is sincere. Now, he must regain our trust and respect. That will require a personal commitment from Urban to everyone who supports, represents or plays for our team. I am confident he will deliver.'
Meyer responded to Khan's statement during a radio interview on Tuesday night.
'I made a comment when I got here about the logo, about an owner who wants to win in the worst way,' Meyer said. 'That's one of the reasons I came here. I just, I admire that guy so much. ... And so, that's what makes me so angry at myself that I lived that, I believe that and I failed.'
Jaguars owner Shad Khan has publicly reprimanded Meyer for the coach's 'inexcusable' behavior. Khan released a statement Tuesday condemning Meyer's actions, which were captured on video and released on social media
Controversy is nothing new to Meyer, who has been accused of protecting former Ohio State and University of Florida assistant coach Zach Smith as he faced allegations of domestic violence.
The Buckeyes suspended Meyer for three games shortly before the 2018 season for mishandling Smith's misconduct that included domestic violence allegations, a drug problem and poor job performance.
An investigation turned up 'a pattern of troubling behavior by Zach Smith: promiscuous and embarrassing sexual behavior, drug abuse, truancy, dishonesty, financial irresponsibility, a possible NCAA violation, and a lengthy police investigation into allegations of criminal domestic violence and cybercrimes,' according to summary investigative findings released by the university.
Meyer fired Smith at Ohio State in 2018 when the assistant was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass after a dispute with his ex-wife Courtney.
Zach Smith pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in October of 2018 in connection with his arrest in July of that year. He also signed a consent agreement and domestic violence civil protection order preventing him from having contact with Courtney for three years
The arrest led to the revelation that Smith was previously accused of beating her when he worked as an assistant under Meyer at the University of Florida in 2009, when Courtney was pregnant, and again in 2015, when the couple was living near Columbus, Ohio. Courtney later told Stadium.com's Brett McMurphy that she believed Meyer was aware of the attacks.
Zach Smith pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in October of 2018 in connection with his arrest in July of that year. He also signed a consent agreement and domestic violence civil protection order preventing him from having contact with Courtney for three years.
Smith violated that protection order in 2019 and was sentenced to 180 days in Jail in February of 2020.
Courtney alleged her then-husband shoved her against a wall and put his hands around her neck in 2015, one of several alleged domestic incidents involving the couple that came to light after he was fired.
Meyer ultimately kept his job, but stepped down after the season in what was his second retirement from coaching.
The Ohio native has been one of the biggest names in college football over the last two decades, winning a pair of national titles at Florida and a third at OSU.
Courtney Smith alleged her then-husband Zack shoved her against a wall and put his hands around her neck in 2015, one of several alleged domestic incidents involving the couple that came to light after he was fired
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