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All eyes in the college football world seem to be focused on Urban Meyer as Ohio State nears the conclusion of a two-week investigation into how the championship football coach handled allegations of domestic violence against Zach Smith, his former assistant coach.

Meyer’s future with the Buckeyes has been unclear since he was placed on administrative leave with pay when that probe began. And though it’s unknown what criteria the university’s six-person investigative group will use to decide Meyer’s fate, the language in his contract gives some insight into the university’s power to sever ties with the three-time national champion. 

A USA TODAY Network examination of Big Ten football coaches’ contracts revealed boilerplate language requiring coaches to follow university policies, indirectly subjecting them to the university sexual misconduct policies which are outlined in separate documents. Yet some contracts, like Meyer’s — in addition to that of Illinois coach Lovie Smith and embattled Maryland coach D.J. Durkin — go further by giving specific instructions for how to handle such matters.

More: Ohio State football: What we know as investigation into coach Urban Meyer wraps up

Meyer’s university-policy obligations includes serving as a mandatory reporter of Title IX-related issues, and he also is required to report allegations of sexual misconduct/relationship violence that happen within the university community, which could include Zach Smith’s now ex-wife, Courtney Smith. 

Meyer’s contract was amended in April to include specific guidelines for reporting these types of allegations. And while some of the verbiage may seem redundant to university policy, one legal expert says it follows a recent trend of doubling down on the responsibility that coaches have to report misdeeds within their programs. 

Meyer was thrust into a national firestorm earlier this month after Courtney Smith said she was abused by Zach Smith on multiple occasions, including a 2015 incident that was reported to police and purportedly was known to many inside Ohio State’s athletic department. The investigation centers on what Meyer knew about the 2015 incident and when he knew it. Ohio State’s Board of Trustees is expected to meet Wednesday to discuss Meyer’s future. 

“By including the legal language that’s required, they’re making sure that the coach actually has notice of what that law might be,” said Barbara Osborne, a University of North Carolina law professor specializing in sports administration. “By including it specifically in the contract, you avoid any question of what you knew or should have known, and then it really clearly provides the university with the option for termination for cause.”

What was Meyer required to do?

Meyer’s contract requires him to “promptly report” any known violations of Ohio State’s sexual misconduct policy to the university’s Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Athletics. Intimate violence — such as the allegations against Zach Smith — is included in the policy.

The clause in Meyer’s contract cites violations involving “any student, faculty or staff,” and classifies a “known violation” as a “violation or an allegation of a violation of Title IX that (Meyer) is aware of or has reasonable cause to believe is taking place or may have taken place.” Title IX, according to its website, is the federal civil rights law that protects against discrimination on the basis of sex, including forms of sexual misconduct such as relationship violence. 

More: Reporting obligations for each Big Ten football coach

Ohio State’s university policy also specifies that employees who are considered a supervisor, such as a teacher, coach or president of an organization, will be held to a higher standard to report allegations of misconduct “because of their positions of authority” and “heightened responsibility.”

“Title IX requires everyone to disclose when a student is at risk,” Osborne said. “There’s a little bit more question about when an employee is engaging in the activity and there’s not direct student involvement. Now there’s also some moral and ethical issues, but the language you read to me, in that language or similar languages in Urban Meyer’s contract, then that clearly indicates that it’s a broad mandate and he should’ve reported.”

More: Urban Meyer: A timeline of the college football coach’s career

Meyer lied about what he knew about the 2015 incident when asked about it at Big Ten media days in Chicago on July 24. After Courtney Smith’s accusations surfaced, Meyer apologized for his comments but insisted he followed  protocol by “elevating the issues to the proper channels.” It’s not yet clear when or to whom Meyer reported the allegations.

“I understand that there are more questions to be answered,” Meyer said in a Twitter statement on Aug. 3. “At the appropriate time, I will also address the questions and speculation in a public forum.” 

While the alleged violence in the Ohio State case did not take place against a student, it did take place against the then-wife of a university employee. That leads to a question of whether Courtney Smith is a member of the university “community” — within which Meyer is required by the university’s sexual misconduct policy to report any allegations of sexual misconduct or relationship violence.

“The plain meaning of the word community, relative to a college or university, is probably going to be much broader than students and employees,” Osborne explained.” When you’re talking community, you’re looking at all of those various constituencies that have a vested interest in the university. So the actual people on campus, but it’s also the surrounding area, it might be the entire town or city that that institution is in, it would most likely include alumni. So community is a much broader word than campus, students, employees.”

Does the contract language matter?

The language in Meyer’s contract is far from unique. Some coaches from non-Big Ten schools have similar language in their contracts, including Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith and Arkansas’ Chad Morris. In the case of Smith, Oregon State felt it was important to make the head coach’s duty as a mandatory reporter “abundantly clear.”

“This language is based upon Oregon State University’s commitment to create a university environment free of sexual misconduct, violence, harassment and discrimination,” Oregon State spokesperson Steve Clark said. “OSU requires that all university employees are considered “responsible employees and must contact the OSU’s Title IX coordinator or the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access with knowledge of any form of sexual harassment, sexual violence, domestic violence or stalking.

“We customarily evaluate best practices used at many other universities when considering many Oregon State practices and policies. In the case of writing this new contract, yes, we looked at example head coaching contracts from other universities, including Ohio State.”

And while Arkansas drafted Morris’ contract without consulting Ohio State or examining the language that appears in both Meyer and basketball coach Chris Holtmann’s contracts, senior associate athletic director Kevin Trainor said Arkansas was “familiar with similar provisions” in other contracts around the country.

“It is a statement of the reporting obligation of ‘responsible employees’ on this campus (which includes our athletic coaches) regarding violations of the University of Arkansas’s Sexual Assault and Harassment Policies,” Trainor said when asked about contract language identifying Morris as a mandatory reporter. “It also reflects a recommended practice standard within the industry.”

According to Osborne, contract language that outlines a coach’s responsibility to serve as a mandatory reporter is a “risk management tool.” It also doubles down on the boilerplate language used in many university policies that identifies coaches as mandatory reporters, which means they are required to report knowledge or suspected knowledge of abuse in a timely manner. 

Osborne says this type of language in a contract is a fairly recent trend, within the past five years, and it is essentially an extra level of security for universities in case the coach  breaks university policy or doesn’t adhere to the language in his contract.

“Depending on what the contract language is,” Osborne explained, “if that clause is in the contract and the coach fails to perform, generally a failure to perform duties is cause for termination.”

USA TODAY Sports’ Steve Berkowitz, Amanda Christovich and A.J. Perez contributed to this report. 

What will £10 ($12.84) get you in this day and age?

If you live in Scotland and have a rather large appetite, it could get you this staggering amount of fried food plus a large bottle of Scottish soda Irn-Bru. 

Known as a “crunch box” this dish features various fried food items resting on a bed of chips. 

Twitter user @RossMcCaff posted an image of this incredible fried food bargain and people had a lot of questions about it. 

Some people actually complained about the quantity of the fried stuff in the box.

Some made suggestions about what should be included in the box of food.

McCafferty addressed many internetters’ concerns about the contents of the box.

Others viewed the crunch box more as an object worthy of anthropological analysis.

But the crunch box mostly left the Scots proud. Like this user, who was inspired by the box to sing the 1977 song ‘Caledonia,’ one of the Scottish national anthems. 

Take a good look at that crunch box. For as long as you live you’ll surely never see that many calories in one place. 

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) last month claimed responsibility for its first attack in Tajikistan, the poorest ex-Soviet state that shares a border with Afghanistan.

On July 29, a grey saloon car repeatedly ran over a group of Western tourists cycling towards the Pamir Mountains. 

The attackers later used knives and axes, killing two Americans, a Dutch citizen and a Swiss national, and injuring three more people, police said. 

Two days later, in a video, ISIL said five attackers had pledged allegiance to it.

The claim prompted concerns about a potential new front for the cornered group that has lost most of its territory and fighters in Iraq and Syria and seeks a toehold and more recruits in Central Asia, a resource-rich region of more than 60 million people.

But analysts say that to Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon, who has ruled the nation of nine million for 26 years, the attack was another excuse to crack down on his domestic opponents. 

His government claimed that the attackers were members of the Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP), a coalition that has denounced ISIL.

“Tajik authorities have always emphasised the threat of radical Islamist movements and organisations to pursue their own goals – to either get international aid or justify harsh steps within the country,” Parvina Khamidova, a US-based Tajik publicist, told Al Jazeera.

Other Central Asian leaders have used imaginary or real threats posed by ISIL, al-Qaeda or homegrown groups to justify purges of opposition, critics and worshippers who attend mosques the state considers suspicious.

“Since there is only a handful of ISIL fighters in Central Asia, [authorities] present anyone they can as such – radical Islamists of all kinds, criminals and even undesired adherents of traditional Islam,” Valentin Bogatyrev, a former adviser to several Kyrgyz presidents, wrote in an opinion piece published by the Ferghana.ru news agency. 

‘Shameless and illogical slander’

In 1997, Rakhmon, a former collective farm chairman and minor Communist official, struck a deal with the IRP and other opposition forces to end a five-year civil war.

Once Tajikistan’s second-largest political party with tens of thousands of members, it was also the only Muslim party in the former Soviet Union – a fact Rakhmon hailed as an example of Tajik democracy.

But in 2015, he banned it as a “terrorist organisation”, and courts sentenced dozens of its members to up to 28 years or life in jail. 

Two days after the tourists’ killing, police killed four attackers and arrested five more men. 

One of them “confessed” to visiting the Iranian city of Qum for “ideological and military training” and meetings with an IRT official, the Interior Ministry claimed (warning: hyperlinked article contains graphic images).

Despite linguistic and cultural ties to Iran, Tajiks are overwhelmingly Sunni. Qum is the world’s largest centre of Shia learning, and an unlikely place to provide Sunnis with “military training”.

“We consider it a shameless and illogical slander,” the IRT’s exiled leaders said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the Tajik authorities, as always, have tried to use this human and national tragedy for political purposes and against peaceful opponents.”

Meanwhile, one of Rakhmon’s own security chiefs, Col. Gulmurod Khalimov, joined ISIL.

He was head of Tajikistan’s riot police force, who underwent extensive training in the US along with hundreds of Tajik security officers, but in 2015 left for ISIL-controlled territory and eventually became a “war minister” with the armed group.

His defection made him “the poster child for the folly of US military assistance in Central Asia”, wrote John Heathershow, an expert on Tajikistan. 

Despite Khalimov’s defection, the US continued to school Tajik servicemen – last year alone, they trained and equipped 1,700. 

Since its independence, Tajikistan received almost $1bn in aid from the US.

Khalimov was reportedly killed in Mosul in 2017. 

Up to 4,000 Central Asians are believed to have joined ISIL and travelled to its territory because they feel marginalised politically and economically, while their leaders “are tempted to exploit the phenomenon to crack down on dissent”, according to a 2015 report by the International Crisis Group, a think-tank. 

Uzbek purges

In neighbouring Uzbekistan, late President Islam Karimov jailed hundreds of suspected ISIL supporters, continuing decades of pressure on alleged sympathisers of al-Qaeda and Hizb-ut Tahrir, and peaceful Muslim government critics.

“The so-called fight against Islamic fundamentalism resulted in a complete purge of the political and civil landscape,” Nigara Khidouytova, an exiled leader of the Free Farmers opposition party who lives in Los Angeles, told Al Jazeera.

Her husband was killed in 2005 in what she called a government-orchestrated attack, and her sister and cousin, who co-founded Free Farmers, were sentenced to 10 and 14 years in jail, respectively.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Karimov offered Uzbek soil and air to transit NATO servicemen and cargo to Afghanistan, and received tens of millions of dollars in US aid.

Washington invested to turn a Soviet aerodrome on the Afghan border into a first-class airbase.

But after the West criticised Karimov’s 2005 crackdown on an uprising in the eastern city of Andijan that left hundreds of civilians dead, he sent the Americans at the base home.

After Karimov’s 2016 death, his successor Shavkat Mirziyoyev started reforms, releasing political prisoners, purging corrupt officials and cutting taxes.

But his government continues Karimov’s policies of imprisoning Muslims accused of “radicalism.”

“Their criminal cases are fabricated through the use of torture,” Uzbek rights defender Surat Ikramov told Al Jazeera.

‘Ideological mutations’

Several Central Asian rulers present themselves as proponents of secularism and democracy. 

But experts say their nations are afflicted by nepotism amid deliberately restored feudal systems of government.

“It is the suppression of critical thought and liberal intellectuals that leads to active domination of primitive archaic groups that provide false short-term stability, but result in the degradation of the economy, politics and education,” Rafael M Sattarov, a visiting scholar at George Washington University, told Al Jazeera. 

To fill the void left by the communism and to counter the resurgence of Islam, they came up with what Sattarov calls “ideological mutations.”

Uzbekistan lionises the medieval conqueror Tamerlane, known for his unprecedented brutality.

Tajikistan’s Rakhmon promotes “Aryan” culture – meaning Iranian culture with an emphasis on the Samanid dynasty that broke away from the Abbasid caliphate and revived pre-Islamic traditions.

In Turkmenistan, the government of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, does not publicly discuss any threats posed by ISIL and has jailed dozens of young men in recent years for their “excessive religiosity”, an exiled Turkmen analyst says.

“The authorities actively suppress any form of fanaticism,” Ruslan Myatiev, who runs the Alternative Turkmen news website, told Al Jazeera.

And in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, governments glorify their nations’ nomadic heritage and epic poetry.

Kazakhstan attack

In June 2016, Kazakhstan witnessed one of the worst attacks in its history.

Armed men raided gun stores and shot police officers and national guards.

Twenty-five people were killed, including 18 attackers whom authorities called “followers of radical, non-traditional religious movements.” 

Authorities seemed perplexed by the attackers’ affiliation. 

President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has ruled the oil-rich nation since the Soviet collapse, said they were “Salafis” and the Foreign Ministry claimed the attack was ordered by ISIL spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani. 

But ISIL never claimed responsibility for the attack.

Following the assault, Nazarbayev created a Ministry of Religious Affairs and Civil Society that has since been lambasted for its steps to outlaw hijabs, ban minors from participation in religious rites and force mosques to report their donations. 

He also decided that several hundred Kazakhs fighting for ISIL would be stripped of their citizenship.

“We decided we won’t let them return home,” Nazarbayev said in televised remarks in 2017.

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A former chief inspector accused of trying to blame Liverpool fans for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster has had all charges against him dropped.

Sir Norman Bettison, then of South Yorkshire Police, had faced four counts of misconduct in a public office.

He was accused of telling lies about the “culpability of fans” and his role in the wake of the tragedy.

Prosecutors said insufficient evidence meant there was no real prospect of securing a conviction.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said because of changes in the evidence of two witnesses, and the death of a third, it would discontinue the case.

The decision was taken following a review of the evidence and was confirmed at a hearing at Preston Crown Court.

Prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse QC told the court that since the defendant was charged in June of last year, the “state of the evidence has changed”.

She said one of the two witnesses the Crown relied on for three of the charges, relating to statements he allegedly made blaming Liverpool fans for the disaster, had since died and “significant contradictions” had come to light in the accounts given by the other witness.

Ms Whitehouse said the CPS had a duty to review the evidence and reached the decision there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.

She said the remaining charge related to Sir Norman’s alleged use of the word, “peripheral” in describing his role in the South Yorkshire Police response when he applied for the job of Chief Constable of Merseyside Police in 1998, which had now been “partly retracted” by one witness.

The prosecutor said all four of the counts were part of a “narrative” of a “pattern of behaviour” but because the other three counts had been dropped, the “thread has been lost”.

‘Grave concerns’

Five others, including David Duckenfield who is accused of manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 fans, are due to face trial next year.

Mr Duckenfield was match commander at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium, when 96 Liverpool fans were fatally injured in a crush in the terrace pens.

Under the law at the time, there can be no prosecution for the death of the 96th victim, Tony Bland, because he died more than a year and a day after his injuries were caused

Read live updates on this story and other news on BBC Local Live.

In a statement following the dropping of charges against Sir Norman, the Hillsborough Family Support Group said: “We have grave concerns about the handling of this case by the CPS and can confirm that we will be exercising our right to an independent review under the Right to Review scheme.

“It is our view that the wrong charge was brought in the first place and we will be using the review process to argue this point strongly.

“We know how our supporters will feel about this decision and, of course, we all share all of those feelings.”

Speaking outside court, Steve Kelly, whose brother Michael died in the disaster, said: “I’m absolutely devastated. I feel as if I’ve been beaten up this morning.

“I feel as though we are treading water a little bit.”

With Monday night’s 20-19 Ravens victory over the Colts, the second week of the preseason is through. That means each squad’s most important game is yet to come. Week 3 of the preseason is widely known as the dress rehearsal game, where starters get a good chunk of playing time, and much of what fans will see then is the result of what happened over the weekend.

Here’s a look at winners and losers from Week 2 of the preseason.

Winners

Josh Allen: Though many considered him to be the least pro-ready of the elite quarterbacks in the draft, Allen might be the one making the strongest case to start. In Friday’s 19-17 victory against the Browns, Allen led the Bills on scoring drives on each of the three series he played, going nine of 13 for 60 yards and one score. Most impressive was that Allen showed pocket awareness and poise, and kept his eyes shifting through his progressions when defenders charged toward him.

The latest sign of momentum? In Monday’s practice, the Bills worked Allen with the first-string. By the afternoon, the team announced he’d start Sunday against the Bengals.

The Jets: An organization that has spent years searching for a franchise quarterback, New York — suddenly — might have multiple options. Rookie Sam Darnold has impressed thus far in his first training camp. Teddy Bridgewater has flashed in his comeback from a major knee injury two years ago — completing 10 of 15 passes for 127 yards with one touchdown and one interception — and might actually be the best option to play right now. And veteran Josh McCown is steady and an excellent leader in the locker room, though he’s not a long-term option. The Jets can go either way, but one appealing route might be to appoint McCown or Darnold as the QB1 and ship Bridgewater in a trade to recoup more assets.

MORE NFL:

James Conner: With Le’Veon Bell’s continued absence from the Steelers, the slimmed-down Conner is taking advantage. Though he’s only carried the ball nine times this preseason — including five for 57 and one touchdown in Thursday’s loss against the Packers — Conner has proven he can elude defenders and can be a contributor in the regular season. Just take a peek at this 26-yard scamper to see how.

Joe Flacco: He has struggled in recent years as his supporting cast lacked star talent, but Flacco looked poised and comfortable against the Colts. He completed seven of nine passes for 72 yards and one touchdown. But more importantly, he looked to build some rapport with new receivers Michael Crabtree (nice, zone-beating, 29-yard catch down the left sideline), John Brown (7-yard touchdown grab in traffic), and tight end Hayden Hurst (15-yard reception in between defenders).

Tyreek Hill: The Chiefs receiver broke out last season, catching 75 passes for 1,183 yards and seven touchdowns. All that, despite having a passer in Alex Smith who was measured and avoided mistakes, while sometimes sacrificing deep throws. With the strong-armed Pat Mahomes taking over the starting quarterback job, Friday’s 28-14 Kansas City victory flashed a glimpse of what Mahomes can do with Hill — one of the fastest players in the NFL — at his disposal on this 69-yard touchdown.

Losers

Dez Bryant: Long maintaining that he needed to get his mind right before returning to football, the unsigned Bryant might have missed his best chance to latch on to an ascending roster. Bryant live-tweeted the preseason opening game for the Browns on Aug. 9 and announced that he would be making a visit to the franchise. He did on Thursday, but it was in the wake of star receiver Josh Gordon announcing his return to the team after an extended hiatus as he worked on his mental health. Now, Cleveland apparently does not need Bryant, which means he’ll likely have to keep waiting to find a suitor.

Kirk Cousins: Granted, it’s just one preseason game, so no need to overreact, and, as last year proved, that Jaguars first-string defense is legit. But Cousins had a rocky night in a 14-10 loss, going three of eight for 12 yards. Out of four drives Cousins played, the offense sputtered to three-and-outs on two of them. Cousins is clearly the franchise quarterback in Minnesota, but Saturday’s game might be an indication that there will be some growing pains against top-tier defenses.

AJ McCarron: It’s bad enough that McCarron was the weakest of the three Bills quarterbacks in Friday’s game, completing just three of six passes for 12 yards, but he suffered a shoulder injury that all but ends his shot at becoming Buffalo’s Week 1 starter. The Bills said McCarron is still undergoing further tests to determine the severity. But with the regular-season opener fewer than three weeks away, and with Allen making strides and Nathan Peterman keeping steady in the competition, it’s a near certainty McCarron will — again — be relegated to the bench.

Dolphins rush defense: They were middle of the pack last season, allowing 110.5 rushing yards a game (14th), and after Friday’s 27-20 loss to the Panthers, Miami might still have more work to do to stop the ground game. On 31 carries, the Panthers earned 226 yards (7.3 yards per attempt) and three touchdowns. Seventy-one came on one rush.

It even prompted Rams defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, whom Miami released in March, to respond “Right up the Gut lol” to the above video on Instagram.

The Patriots: Yes, it looked like Trent Brown was going to take over the starting left tackle spot, anyway, but anytime a team loses a first-round pick to a torn Achilles, it’s never good. Tackle Isaiah Wynn, who was taken with the No. 23 overall selection, was expected to at least rotate in and out of the lineup, and might have been poised to take the right tackle gig from Marcus Cannon. New England should recover from the loss, but it’s a blow to a team that was already dealing with the departure of left tackle Nate Solder in free agency.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes.

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