Former Ohio State stars call out claims by Marcus Williamson

After Ohio State cornerback Marcus Williamson accused Urban Meyer of racist remarks Twitter rant Saturday night, two former players had a response. Linebacker Joshua Perry and safety Tyvis Powell both came to the defense of the program.

“We can get into the free labor economy of CFB as a whole, but painting OSU as racist ain’t it,” Perry wrote. “And Urban was a tough ass coach, but he always invested in us as players and people. Just a window into my experience.”

Powell agreed, saying that he never experienced racist behavior during his time with the Buckeyes.

“(I don’t know) what Marcus Williamson is talking about when it comes to racism,” he tweeted. “I didn’t feel that type of energy from anybody in the building. Everyone involved in sports at OSU always showed us love and support. The love was tough at times but never racist.”

In his tweets Saturday, Williamson said that Meyer showed the Buckeyes a picture of Trayvon Martin, a black teen who was fatally shot in 2012 while walking home in his own neighborhood. The coach then allegedly told them of a team rule prohibiting players from wearing hoodies in the building.

The cornerback also said the Meyer told him he would “ruin my f****** life” if he ever caught him smoking. Williamson also went on to call out ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit for his comments on bowl opt-outs, and fans for their criticism of players.

Marcus Williamson did not make the trip to the Rose Bowl against Utah.

“Now that I’m a fan, I gotta say….u fans know nothing and have some of the WORST football IQ ever,” Williamson wrote on Twitter.

Meyer also responded to Williamson’s accusations, denying that he ever showed a picture of Trayvon Martin. He did offer some clarification about the team rule.

“Our team rule was no hats or hoodies or sunglasses of any kind but only in team meetings, just so we could see their eyes and make sure they were paying attention and not asleep,” Meyer said to Jeff Snook. “We did not, and never would show a picture of Trayvon Martin. My gosh, no. That is absolutely false and you can check with any other player on my teams during that time to confirm what I am saying. Other players know what he is saying is false. I would never do that. He is crossing the line here. It seems people are just piling on now. But that never happened.”

Meyer resigned from Ohio State in 2018 and re-entered the coaching world this year with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. He was fired by the team in December in the midst of accusations of verbal and physical abuse against his players and staff. In less than one season as an NFL coach, he compiled a 2-11 record.