Should Urban Meyer allow Storm Klein to return to the team?

23 August 2012
38 Comments

Yes

42% (517 votes)

58% (727 votes)

Total votes: 1244

Comments

johnblairgobucks on 23 Aug 2012 - 8:01am #

I voted no on the return, this late into the process, only what 14 weeks left in the season, Klein has a lot to learn, taking away from coaches game-plan implimentation and turning it into teaching time , unless he was limited to kick coverage kamikazee.

I think in fairness Klein should keep his scholarship.

I don't know. tough spot- it's why people despise jury duty. Go Bucks!

AJBor41 on 23 Aug 2012 - 8:10am #

I'm with you on this one. If the lesser charge had been a done deal in June, then maybe he'd have a tougher decision, but I think the "9 days until kickoff" reason should suffice in keeping him dismissed from the team.

yrro on 23 Aug 2012 - 8:48am #

I think he should go back on the team, but with a suspension. Gives him time to catch back up, still shows a penalty for what he did.

Phoenix824 on 23 Aug 2012 - 11:16am #

Agree, 6 games is my vote. Kill half his season but helps him out with the education.

Northbrook on 23 Aug 2012 - 7:03pm #

That sounds like the best option to me.

Steve Earle Bru... on 23 Aug 2012 - 8:56am #

Don't need him, don't want him. An unnecessary risk. Look at it this way: he gets back on the team and he contributes as a back-up. That's the maximum positive outcome. He isn't going to start unless there's an injury. On the other hand, if he gets in trouble again (likely), it's another black eye for the program nationally.

The North remembers.

andyb on 23 Aug 2012 - 10:08am #

I'm good with him coming back with conditions...LET EM LIVE!

billy04 on 23 Aug 2012 - 10:14am #

This isn't his first foray into unnecessary off-field violence. He's a punk, and he doesn't deserve the opportunity to play for this team.

macbraddy on 23 Aug 2012 - 10:19am #

Funny how everyone seems to only care how much he will contribute as being the only reason why he should or should not be let back on the team, I'm not sure why that matters. If you don't want him back on the team because of what went down that's one thing but just saying that Urban should toss him aside because he's not that good isn't right. He has given 4 years of his life to Ohio State and he has started and played a lot. That's more than many highly rated recruits ever accomplish . The kids a senior I say let him back with Urban's conditions and I don't care if he plays or not he can finish his career with his football brothers.

Go Bucks!!!

andyb on 23 Aug 2012 - 10:31am #

Preach!

Chise47 on 23 Aug 2012 - 3:32pm #

"Common sense, is not common."-Chinese Proverb

Glad to see someone w/common sense. I should get Biblical & start quoting some redemptive/forgiveness lessons for some of these folk that are our Buckeye "Brethren".

3 games, 120 charity/community service hrs.,(for domestic violence victims), joint counseling for he & his girlfrind/childs' mother; then see how it all plays out on the field.

He is MUCH too young a guy to be just thrown away as if he doesn't have a chance to really make a change in his life, or really become something much stronger from this tuff lesson he has had to endure.

buckeye76BHop on 23 Aug 2012 - 10:33am #

It all depends on what direction the staff is going with those freshman LBs. If they're playing no matter what, then say sorry but no thanks Storm. If some of those LBs are going to redshirt...then OSU needs Storm for a #s stand point. I do believe the charges were changed correct...so reevaluation of his status will be happening I'm sure considering he's a senior. We'll see I suppose...

"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987

4dorr on 23 Aug 2012 - 10:50am #

He would be great for the practice squad.

Tomorrow

LadyBuck on 23 Aug 2012 - 11:12am #

I voted no. Right now is a time for Urbz to stick to his guns, and he dismissed Storm.

ohst8buxCP on 23 Aug 2012 - 11:14am #

I say no on his return to the team. He's had more than one chance and continues to have an inclination towards hitting women. That being said let him keep his scholarship, the details of this incident are sketchy at best and something like that shouldn't be allowed to completely derail a kids life.

M Man on 23 Aug 2012 - 12:30pm #

FWIW, I voted "Yes."

I have serious doubts that Urban Meyer or 11W will be much concerned with my vote. But since when does "Charges dropped" get you suspended?

Now, I have to say that I appreciate the uniformly-classy comments on this thread. OSU fans sticking up for the credibility of the program. I have to tip my M cap to all of you. And we should be clear; a not guilty verdict does not necessarily win you the privilege -- and it has to be regarded as a privilege -- of wearing the scarlet and gray on the field in Ohio Stadium. If Storm Klein privately confessed something to his coaches that was legally irrelevant to any prosecution, I can understand how that could earn him a dismissal. But we don't know that. And if Storm Klein really does have a pattern of behavior that could damage the program, that too could be grounds for voiding his privilege -- again that word -- of putting on a silver helmet.

But (here is where I blow all of my cred with my friends at 11W) I think back to another OSU linebacker, Robert Reynolds, for whom I had some real bad feelings at the time, and how he has found redemption:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds%E2%80%93Sorgi_incident

I open this up to my good friends in Columbus. Robert Reynolds? Storm Klein? Discuss.

Run_Fido_Run on 23 Aug 2012 - 12:43pm #

M Man, thanks for the kind words about the classiness of comments on this thread, but the reason not to bite on your invitation to discuss Reynolds v. Klein is right there in your comment. We do not know about all the background details - what the coaches might know, beyond what's been made public, concerning Klein's past or recent actions.

I can say that, if it had been up to me, I'd probably have given Reynolds a 2 or 3 game suspension.

M Man on 23 Aug 2012 - 12:54pm #

Remind me what Reynolds did get; it was 1 game, right? And thereafter, he didn't start for a game or two, right? I defer to you guys on that...

Run_Fido_Run on 23 Aug 2012 - 1:00pm #

It was officially a 1-game suspension. Cannot recall if he was further penalized by not being allowed to start and/or given other restrictions on playing status or team privileges, etc.

1-game was too light. 3-games was probably about right, IMO.

JJB on 23 Aug 2012 - 12:50pm #

What exactly are we supposed to be discussing?

M Man on 23 Aug 2012 - 1:21pm #

Well Reynolds committed what was arguably/nearly a felonious battery.* Which resulted in an injured Jim Sorgi. A lot worse harm to the victim than Storm Klein's baby mama.

I dunno. I'm the first guy to confess what I don't know about all of this. That's why I suggested, "Discuss."

*Never charged; no criminal allegations, no arrest. No nuthin'. That much would have been obvious to most of you as long-time and wellinformed observers of Buckeye football; I just wanted to make it clear in fairness to Reynolds.

OSUBias on 23 Aug 2012 - 12:45pm #

The charges were dropped because he plea bargained a lesser charge. Something happened or he wouldn't have pled guilty. Something involving him handling a woman physically in a way that was harmful/frightening to her (not that there's an ok way to physically handle a woman, ever).

Based on the original charges and story, and then him plea bargaining something smaller, it sure seems like it was a case of the girlfriend backing down because she didn't want him to get into too much trouble.

When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."

M Man on 23 Aug 2012 - 12:52pm #

I respect, and accept, your point. Well said.

Here's one thing I'd offer in response. Prosecutorial charges can be like offers or demands in civil litigation. Bargaining. Speaking lawyerly, I'd strongly resist the temptation to say that Klein was guilty of anything more than what he pled to.

JJB on 23 Aug 2012 - 12:52pm #

Its also possible he just didn't want to go to trial. These things are far from black and white. I'm not trying to back him, just saying we still have to wait and see.

Run_Fido_Run on 23 Aug 2012 - 12:58pm #

Seems like a reasonable guess, but we don't know.

The coaches probably know a lot more about the pertinent issues than we do - if not all/some of the key facts specifically pertaining to this case, at least they are the most knowledgeable concerning Klein's track record with the team.

Therefore, I'm inclined not to prejduge things and wait to see how the coaches handle Klein's request to be reinstated. Barring some sort of public disclosure of key facts (which would be illegal), the coaches will always know more about the relevant facts they we do.

OSUBias on 23 Aug 2012 - 1:10pm #

Agree with all points in response to my first post. We really don't know. In reality, only the two of them know. The police and the prosecutor only know what they were told, which may or may not be the truth.

It's too soon to form a valid and comprehensive opinion because we don't know the facts. But that is what we do in this day and age; make an opinion by sifting through the available information and taking a guess at what we really think happened. So I figured I'd throw my viewpoint in there with all of the other "too soon" discussion points.

When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."

dubjayfootball90 on 23 Aug 2012 - 1:26pm #

i just think the privilege to play for Ohio State and a free eductaion has been abused both in the present and in the past..... Yank 'em.

Baroclinicity on 23 Aug 2012 - 1:39pm #

I posted this in the skully and was wondering... would our thoughts be different about Klein returning if he had the talents of Shazier?

OSUBias on 23 Aug 2012 - 2:11pm #

I'd like to say no, but the reality is probably yes. I have no evidence to back that up, just my gut feeling. I'd like to think that something like manhandling a woman is bad enough to rise above our fandom and make us see it for what it truly is (without our scarlet colored glasses on). But I'm not entirely sure that it would. At least not across the board.

When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."

johnblairgobucks on 23 Aug 2012 - 2:25pm #

You bet reactions would be different. I'd bet 3-1 people would say "bring em back today!". Though we are just giving opinions, and this would be an opinion on a hypothetical event..... the original event was not witnessed by any of the commenting people, so this whole thing is silly.

I was against Robert Smith coming back to OSU in the early 90's, after he quit the team and then came back, I thought Robert Reynolds should have been booted off the team for choking another man. I thought Troy Smith should have had a longer suspension for taking $$$ in 2004.

It is a team game and the team comes first. Dealing with other's knuckle-headed actions take away from the team, and need to be dealt with aggressively, IMO.

The whole problem with Klein's situation is we are all commenting but none of us KNOW what really happened.

Pam on 23 Aug 2012 - 3:51pm #

I believe that Troy's punishment was fair. Two games, one a bowl, pay the money back and apologize publicly. The NCAA agreed with it too. He was pretty much a choir boy after that. From what I understand JT and Geiger were ready to boot him, this coming on the heels of the Mo C. situation.

rkylet83 on 23 Aug 2012 - 2:54pm #

I voted no mainly on my gut feeling that it could turn into a distraction. Like many have said where there is smoke theres fire and there's potential that something else could happen.

If he was to come back I think it would only be reasonable to come back on as a practice squad player and help the team that way. He'd still get to be with his teammates and hopefully graduate. He's missed a lot of time with the team as far as building chemistry compounded with the training time he's lost as others have mentioned; so playing time in my opinion is out the window.

Boom777 on 23 Aug 2012 - 3:26pm #

I say yes(meaning he should be able to if allowed). This is why we have a legal system so opinions should not matter, rule of law should. He went through his legal process now its up to the coach. Call him what you want we should put aside his legal trouble because it has been" taken care of". Whether or not he can contribute is another topic.

Wherever you are, there you be!

SPreston2001 on 23 Aug 2012 - 3:30pm #

I have no feelings about this either way. If he lets him back on fine, if he doesnt oh well...

hodge on 23 Aug 2012 - 4:04pm #

Judging that Urban's as in-the-dark as us, I'd talk to Klein's child's mother and get her feel for the kind of man he is. If it can be determined that he physically abused her and got off with a plea bargain, boot him. He still violated a core rule, and it's not his first offense (or even his first case of domestic abuse). Good riddance.

If nothing can be definitively determined, the young man should be allowed back on the team--albeit with the provision that if anything like this so much as surfaces again, he's out without question.