NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 01: An Ohio State Buckeye helmet is seen on the sidelines prior to the start of the game during the All State Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 1, 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)An Ohio State wide receiver has taken to Twitter to call out Brett McMurphy for his latest report about an alleged “cover up” of an incident between former Buckeyes’ assistant Zach Smith and an OSU transfer.
The new report, using claims by Trevon Grimes’ father, says that Smith used a racial slur during an altercation at practice with the 5-star recruit, who ended up transferring to Florida.
Trevon told his father he got into an altercation with Ohio State wide receivers coach Zach Smith at practice.
LeBron Grimes said his son told him that “Zach got up in his face and called him a ‘bitch ass n – – – – -’ and said, ‘I should have never recruited you.’ And then Trevon said something to Zach about him messing around with college girls.”
During that phone call, LeBron told his son he had booked a flight and would be in Columbus in three days. Trevon told him if he didn’t get there the next day he was leaving school.
Ohio State wide receiver Johnnie Dixon has since taken to Twitter to address the allegations:
“I witness the whole altercation and this didn’t happen.. You think a group of African American young men will sit there and let something like this happen? Say what you want but this isn’t true at all,” he tweeted.
I witness the whole altercation and this didn’t happen.. You think a group of African American young men will sit there and let something like this happen? Say what you want but this isn’t true at all. https://t.co/FrteEDIa9H
— Johnnie L. Dixon III (@YoungKing_JD5) November 13, 2018
Another former Ohio State player also denied the use of the slur.
Eli Goins, a senior wide receiver at Ohio State last season, said he witnessed the altercation at practice that players had to “break up” but did not hear Smith use the N-word: “Coach Smith might have said something that pissed off Tre about his previous route. He was always known for saying s – – -, you had to have tough skin.
“It didn’t get like they were throwing punches, but we did have to break them up,” Goins said. “He curses and uses profanity, but he never took it to that level with me. He knew his boundaries.”
Grimes is now a sophomore wide receiver at Florida. He has 17 catches for 194 yards and 1 touchdown.
