auguy86: Blog

Since last night, I've been inundated with replies to my blog post, almost all of which have been overwhelmingly positive. A special thanks to Omachuck for his shoutout, too!

A couple of particularly good replies I wanted to mention. Happy-sprite brought up a great point about the perception of our craft by so many as "smut" and "derogatory towards women," to the point that some regard our stories as a form of abuse. He mentions that's why it's so important to have clear standards of right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable, especially as it pertains to the real world. Wise words.

Another aspect of the story I had forgotten to mention was Urban Meyer's Title IX violations. His Athletic Director admitted that they discussed the 2015 incident at the time, proving Meyer did know about it before this year. When the AD recommended Smith be fired, Meyer declined. But worse, Meyer never mentioned to the AD about the 2009 incident involving Smith, which would have certainly elicited a stronger response from the AD. This omission is a blatant violation of Title IX and should be a fireable offense on the spot. If only OSU had the balls to do it...

Aside from one trollish outlier, I'm so pleased that so many share my frustrations in this. I am especially glad to have heard from several who had not even heard of the story and would not have known about it if not for my blog. That makes me really happy, guys. Like I might actually be making a small difference.

My next blog post will be tomorrow, on a much happier topic, no less. I had my first interview as a published author. Look for that tomorrow afternoon.

M. H. Barton (auguy86)

Forgive me, dear readers, but I feel the need to pontificate regarding two topics near and dear to my heart: football and domestic violence. I apologize for the length of this rant, but I simply have to get this off my chest.

Anyone who knows me knows I love college football. Not just my Auburn Tigers (even if they're the greatest thing since sliced bread), but the sport in general. I love the traditions, the passion, and the raw emotion of the game. It is, in my humble opinion, the greatest sport in the world. However, these aforementioned emotions can often cloud people's judgement and limit their ability to see the bigger picture. This is rarely clearer than in the press conference I saw tonight at Ohio State University.

First of all, for those who may not be familiar, let me give you the skinny of the situation going on at OSU. For those who are already familiar, feel free to skip a bit. Urban Meyer, their head football coach, is one of the best coaches in the nation and has been for years. Back in 2009, his assistant coach at the University of Florida, Zach Smith, was arrested on allegations of physically assaulting his pregnant wife, Courtney. Charges were dropped, but it was well documented that Zach Smith's lawyer put immense pressure on Courtney not to press charges. As Florida's head coach and Smith's boss, Meyer knew about this arrest. Three years later, Meyer becomes the OSU head coach and hires Smith as a wide receiver coach. Three years after that, in 2015, Zach and Courtney Smith separate. Over the next three years, there are multiple reports of trespassing and verbal threats, as well as an incident in which police were called because Zach Smith refused to return their son to Courtney, causing injuries to his ex-wife's arm and neck in the process. As a result of her ex-husbands repeated aggressive acts, Courtney is finally granted an order of protection in July of 2018. Sports writer Brett McMurphy publishes a story three days later in which Courtney Smith details her accounts of the previous 2009 incident and her subsequent fear of her husband. She even says she confided in the wives of the other coaches on staff, including Shelley Meyer, Urban Meyer's wife. Less than twenty-four hours later, OSU fires Zach Smith with no public explanation given.

Now that you're caught up, let me get to the crux of what enrages me so about this entire story. Zach Smith's actions are inexcusable. This much must be said before anything else. I am a man who was raised in the South, and down here, our mommas teach us to love and respect women above all else. For any man to ever raise a hand to strike a woman except in true self-defense is intolerable. It is the single most cowardly act any man can commit, especially against a loved one. But far worse than this is anyone else who has knowledge of such abuse and knowingly covers it up. Thus, we come to the press conference given by OSU this evening.

For the last month, Urban Meyer has been on paid administrative leave at OSU because of his statements at Big Ten Media Day in July. He stated at that time that he had only just learned of Zach Smith's domestic violence incident back in 2015. Mind you, Meyer knew about the 2009 arrest back at the University of Florida. Over the next few days, additional articles are released by Brett McMurphy, including screenshots of text conversations between Courtney Smith and Shelley Meyer. For Urban Meyer to be telling the truth that he never knew about the 2015 incident until this year, Shelley would have had to never have shared her conversations between Courtney with him.

Pause a sec. A number of y'all out there are married or know a few married women. How many wives do you know that would not share with her husband the possibility that one of his employees is beating his wife? Ah, that's what I thought. Zero.

While there has been much speculation since Media Day as to if Urban Meyer might be fired, OSU's press conference gave us the answer: no, he will not. He, as well as Athletic Director Gene Smith, have been suspended until September 16th. September 16th, for cryin' out loud! That's not even a month! As head coach, Meyer will miss all of three games, two of which are easy wins, so there's no real professional consequence for him in this punishment. But worse than this decision was the demeanor of Meyer and Gene Smith at this press conference. Each one spoke with little emotion, almost a mechanical indifference. They knew going into this that they would be protected from the worst possible repercussions of their role in this scandal. Why? Because Urban Meyer wins a shitload of football games.

Some of the lowlights of the press conference. Meyer blames his poor judgement in regards to Zach Smith on having a great relationship with Smith's grandfather. I call bullshit on that one, but that's largely my personal opinion. Gene Smith claims that Meyer never disclosed to him about Zach Smith's 2009 arrest. I find that unbelievable, because if that were true of almost anyone else, they would be fired on the spot with cause to not pay out the rest of their contract. This would mean that, even when Meyer finally told Gene Smith about the 2015 incident, supposedly this July, he still failed to mention that the same guy had been arrested on similar charges back in 2009. Anyone buy that twisted logic? I thought not. Gene Smith went on to say that an assistant coach being investigated for domestic violence "didn't raise any red flags." Seriously.

However, the single saddest moment of the night came when Urban Meyer was asked by a reporter what he would say to Courtney Smith. His reply? "I'm sorry we're in this situation." ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! You're asked to say something to the wife of your coach who was likely subjected to further beatings due to your inaction, and all you can say is you're sorry YOU'RE in this situation?! Urban, you are in this situation because you refused to do the right thing from the very start. Even now, you're still doubling down on your lies by throwing your wife under the bus for supposedly not sharing the text messages with you three years ago. And Courtney? Poor Courtney is in this situation through no fault of her own. She is the victim, not you. You'd do well to remember this.

I am no lawyer, but it seems clear that OSU had every opportunity and ability to fire both Urban Meyer and Gene Smith with cause. But instead, they gave both a slap on the wrist, suspending them for less than a month. This is absolutely shameful, and I hope OSU becomes an utter laughing stock for its piss-poor response. Bottom line, they chose a winning coach over a battered wife. We can do better than this.

I apologize to all. My readers pointed out that I neglected to inform anyone that the free giveaway for An Unforgettable Melody is for the kindle version only. As I am exclusive with Kindle Select for 90 days, this is part of their rules. Sorry for the miscommunication!

M. H. Barton (auguy86)

"An Unforgettable Melody" has been stolen! Some idiot calling himself "QUATHO ZIZI" has published the story on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. I have been in contact with Amazon, who will have a resolution specialist contact me within twelve hours, so they say. If anyone else has had experience with this, I'd be glad to hear from you. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

auguy86

I have said this many times, but I will say it again: I write for enjoyment and as a creative outlet. When I started this little hobby some eighteen months ago, I never imagined that there would be others who would enjoy my stories, certainly not the small following I've built up. Now, the premier readers of Stories Online, in their infinite wisdom, voted my story second place in the Halloween Contest! Words cannot express how humbled I am. With that said...

I'd like to thank the Academy... blah blah blah... the pleasure is mine... blah blah blah... we are a little out of touch in Hollywood... blah blah blah... YOU REALLY LIKE ME!!!

In all seriousness, thank you so much. I am so happy to know that others enjoy reading my works as much as I enjoy creating them. And a special thanks to Mr. Lazeez Jiddan for not only putting this contest together, but also for his tireless daily efforts to keep this site as the BEST online erotica site I've found by far. Kudos!

auguy86