Marcus Freeman responds to perceived jab at Ohio State
Former Ohio State linebacker Marcus Freeman is getting acclimated to becoming the new head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Some of that includes carefully choosing his words as he found out last week in an open letter that seemed to take a subtle jab at his alma mater.
The reaction from Ohio State fans was swift and decisive. Many were shocked how a member of the Buckeye brotherhood could have come out and laid a haymaking swipe at his former team, one that he has been very complimentary about in previous conversations. One that set him up for where he is today.
Freeman took notice (how could he not), and decided to address the outcry from his comments about choosing Notre Dame presumably over Ohio State by “not making the same mistake twice.”
He obviously felt very passionate about clearing the air because he addressed it before even fielding questions from the media Tuesday.
“I wanted to address one more thing before we go open up for questions,” Freeman said. My feelings on Ohio State. I want to make sure to be very clear that the relationships, the time that I spent in Columbus have impacted me and had relationships that I built that will be with me for the rest of my life. I’m very passionate about being the head coach here, but in no way do I want to diminish my time in Columbus and the impact that time has made on me. So, I want to make sure I’m clear about that.”
Nov 27, 2021; Stanford, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman stands on the sideline during the second quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Good on Freeman to clear this up. He didn’t go into why he made the comments, and we’re sure many OSU fans and players would like to get more on that, but he’s his own guy and doesn’t feel the need. At least he felt it necessary to address how his comments were taken and how he really feels about Ohio State and his time there.
So now begs the question: Do you forgive Freeman? Were the comments overblown?
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