Ohio State trustee resigns, says Urban Meyer's punishment wasn't harsh enough

An Ohio State trustee is resigning from his post after head football coach Urban Meyer was handed a three-game suspension following the university’s investigation, a penalty he called “too soft.”

According to the New York Times, Jeffrey Wadsworth stepped away shortly after the investigation concluded and Meyer’s punishment was handed down. He believed the three-game suspension was too light for the head coach’s mishandling of the situation.

“Most people were concerned about whether it was a several-game suspension or not,” he told the New York Times. “To me, there was something altogether wrong about reducing it to a couple of games.”

Wadsworth said he felt like the only one who thought the penalty should be harsher for Meyer and that he’s been embarrassed by how the university resolved the situation.

“I read all these articles,” Wadsworth said about the university’s punishment, “and I’m embarrassed.”

He also believes that Ohio State wasn’t sending the right message with a mere three-game suspension.

Wadsworth is the first of 20 board members to speak publicly about Ohio State’s decision to suspend Meyer for the first three games of the season. The board also handed a suspension to Gene Smith, the athletic director, for a period of 17 days.

Meyer will miss Ohio State’s games against Oregon State, Rutgers and TCU.