Williamson claimed Meyer used a Trayvon Martin photo to demonstrate his “no hoodies” policy.
Ohio State's Marcus Williamson announced his retirement from football over the weekend, and did not play in the Rose Bowl against Utah. Instead, he took to Twitter to post his thoughts on the college football industry as a whole, and also took aim at former OSU coach Urban Meyer.
“As a 17 early enrollee. Urban Meyer told me he'd ‘ruin my f—- life’ if he ever caught me smoking,” Williamson said during his Twitter thread. Two messages later, he shared a photo of Trayvon Martin that he claims Meyer used as an example for his “no hoods” policy for the Ohio State program.
Martin, a 17-year-old shot and killed in Florida in early 2012, was wearing a hoodie at the time. The hoodie became a symbol of support for Martin in the wake of his death, and the consequent debate over racial profiling in the United States.
Speaking to Ohio State reporter Jeff Snook, Meyer confirmed that the program had a “no hoodie rule,” but denied that he used a photo of Martin in the meeting.
“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, per 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 was fired by the Jaguars in mid-December, before the end of his first NFL season, amid mounting controversies that popped up throughout the year.
A number of former Ohio State players including Tyvis Powell, Joshua Perry, Cardale Jones and Evan Spencer took to Twitter after Williamson's thread to defend Meyer and the Buckeyes program.
“I see a lot of former players don't want those autograph signings to stop,” Williamson tweeted on Sunday. “I'm not mad at it. Just remember I put in the same work you did.”
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