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Related: About this forumMeyer: Hernandez murder charge not UF related
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said it is "wrong and irresponsible" to connect him or his former Florida staff to the murder charge facing Aaron Hernandez.
In texts to The Columbus Dispatch and The Gainesville Sun on Saturday, Meyer said there was no cover-up of drug tests during Hernandez's time at Florida. Meyer coached Florida from 2005 to 2010.
These were Meyer's first comments about Hernandez after he declined to comment earlier this week.
The coach said in the texts he "received an email from a friend where there is an accusation of multiple failed drug tests covered up" by the university or the coaching staff. Meyer said that is "absolutely not true" and Hernandez was "held to the same drug testing policy as every other player."
Hernandez played three years under Meyer at Florida. The former New England Patriot is charged in the shooting death of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. He has pleaded not guilty.
"Prayers and thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim," Meyer texted. "Relating or blaming these serious charges to the University of Florida, myself or our staff is wrong and irresponsib
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130706/urban-meyer-aaron-hernandez.ap/#ixzz2YJRgSaMh
For the Ohio State Haters --> This has nothing to do with Ohio State.
Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)<snip>
"Yes, it would have been better if Urban Meyer had left the can of worms closed.
Now that Meyer has defended himself and the University of Florida football program in connection with the background and history of Aaron Hernandez, Meyer has invited increased scrutiny of the players he recruited. As pointed out by Greg Bishop of the New York Times, at least 31 players were arrested during Meyers run from 2005 through 2010 as the Gators head coach.
The types of alleged crimes extended far beyond the garden-variety hell-raising stuff, with one player accused of making 70 charges on a credit card belonging to a woman who had died in a motorcycle accident, and another player stealing a laptop and throwing the computer out the window when police arrived. (Yep, that guy currently plays quarterback for the Panthers.)
The Hernandez situation, which has shed new light on an unsolved shooting from 2007, highlights a bigger question: How many players avoided arrest, thanks to local law-enforcement officials who didnt want to undermine the football program?
A spokesman for the Gainesville Police Department told Bishop that Gators players did not receive special treatment under Meyer."
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/06/arrests-were-rampant-in-gainesville-under-urban-meyer/