Father of Ezekiel Elliott defending Urban Meyer at Ohio State rallies

Ezekiel Elliott’s father is defending Urban Meyer.

On Monday, images surfaced that showed Stacy Elliott standing alongside defenders of the Ohio State head coach on the university grounds. The elder Elliott was also wearing his son’s Buckeyes jersey.

Reports say there were around 100 people at the protest.

Last week, Ohio State put Meyer on paid administrative leave after Courtney Smith, the ex-wife of former Buckeyes assistant coach Zach Smith, told reporter Brett McMurphy that Meyer knew about a domestic abuse incident in 2015 and failed to act. A week before that at Big Ten Media Days, Meyer told reporters that he was not aware of any issues involving his longtime assistant or his wife. And that “never had a conversation” about the supposed incident.

Ohio State is currently investigating the events concerning Meyer and Smith. That investigation will reportedly conclude sometime in the next two weeks.

Last Friday, in a written statement, Meyer said he adhered to the correct protocol in reporting the 2015 incident. He also apologized and said he was “not adequately prepared to discuss these sensitive personnel issues with the media.” Around the same time, Smith went on ESPN and said Meyer asked him about the domestic violence incident during an October 2015 practice.

Last season, the Cowboys’ star was suspended for the first six games of the 2017 NFL season after the league investigated allegations from Elliott’s ex-girlfriend that he was involved in “multiple instances of physical violence” against her. He eventually would serve the suspension later in the season.