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Winning isn’t everything

Urban Meyer is one of the most successful college football coaches in history. Yet, at only age 54, he is retiring from his post at Ohio State University.

Why? In revealing Meyer’s plan to retire after his team plays in the Rose Bowl, OSU officials gave no reason.

There has been much speculation, some of it involving the coach’s health. He has a brain cyst that causes severe headaches.

But it would be naive to think Meyer’s decision did not have something to do with the scandal earlier this year. It involved Meyer’s failure to take decisive action against an assistant coach accused of domestic violence. OSU suspended Meyer for three games because of his inaction.

Perhaps Meyer has simply decided he has made enough fame and money to stop worrying about issues not related directly to winning football games. We may never know all the reasons for his retirement.

But OSU’s disciplinary action and Meyer’s decision send a message in collegiate athletics, and that is this.

Winning isn’t everything. Doing the right thing is important, too.

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