Urban Meyer Is A Football Coach Of Florida:Florida football coach Urban Meyer came under fire from an array of sources Thursday for his outburst against Orlando Sentinel reporter Jeremy Fowler on Wednesday afternoon.
Meyer called Fowler a "bad guy" because, according to the coach, the use of quotes from receiver Deonte Thompson was unfair.
The Football Writers Association of America issued a statement Thursday criticizing Meyer's actions. "The FWAA fully backs the reporting and accuracy of [Fowler's] story and quotes from [Thompson]," said Ron Higgins, chairman of the FWAA's press box committee on ethics and access. "We believe it would have been in the best interests of everyone involved if Coach Urban Meyer had conducted a private meeting with Fowler and Thompson to discuss the matter if he had concerns, rather than the public outburst that occurred."
Thompson was quoted by Fowler in a blog post Monday night and a story in Tuesday's Sentinel as saying new quarterback John Brantley was "a real quarterback" as he addressed the difference between Brantley and former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow.
"Things are going to get better here in the future," Thompson said. "Any receiver would be happy. You have a guy like Brantley throwing the ball, spreading it around to everybody.You never know with Tim. You can bolt, you think he's running, but he'll come up and pass it to you. You just have to be ready at all times. With Brantley, everything's with rhythm, time. You know what I mean, a real quarterback."
While Fowler was not the only reporter to use the quote, his story became the target of Meyer's anger. He approached Fowler after practice Wednesday, pointed a finger at him and, in front of a dozen or so reporters, said, "If that was my son, we'd be going at it right now."
Meyer also threatened to ban Fowler and the newspaper from football practices. Players and coaches are off-limits to the media until further notice.
"You'll be out of practice — you understand that? — if you do that again," Meyer said. "I told you five years ago: Don't mess with our players. Don't do it. You did it. You do it one more time and the Orlando Sentinel's not welcome here ever again. Is that clear? It's yes or no."
Veteran Atlanta Journal-Constitution football reporter Tony Barnhart had uncharacteristically harsh words for Meyer: "I have defended Urban Meyer and bent over backwards to be fair to the man … But he is flat wrong here. There was a right way and a wrong way to handle this issue and over the last two years, when the media has been involved, Meyer has been pretty tone deaf."
Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute, writing for ESPN.com, castigated Meyer for basking in the media glow of Tebow's glory years and turning on the same reporters now.
"Guess what? Some of those pesky reporters who have covered the Gators throughout the years are alumni of the University of Florida journalism program (Fowler, in fact, is a Florida alum). I know those people, so I know they've learned the values of responsible journalism. Some years, the record of the J-school there has been better than the record of the football team."
Steve McClain, UF associate athletic director for communications, said the school would announce plans for media access in the near future. "Whatever those plans are," he said, "it won't be a reaction to that specific event."
Athletic Director Jeremy Foley was traveling Thursday and could not be reached for comment, McClain said.
"Jeremy's story was accurate and presented in context. Urban Meyer's outburst, directed at Jeremy, was unwarranted and will not deter our efforts to report on University of Florida sports," said Sentinel sports topics manager Tim Stephens.
Tebow, the object of Thompson's remarks, told the Palm Beach Post on Thursday that he understood the meaning behind Thompson's comments. "I think [Thompson] was just saying how it is," Tebow said. "[I] might be scrambling for a while, and throw it up to you. Brantley's more of a guy who throws on timing. You know when it's going to come there, or it's not going to come there. It's how me and Brantley are. Just stating facts, I think."
