An Ohio parent whose child was coming home from school covered in bruises from other students caught her son’s teacher badmouthing him on a Zoom call after she shared her concerns, according to a local report.

The mother had requested to meet with her 6-year-old son’s teacher at Reynolds Elementary School in Toledo because she said he came home saying he wanted to kill himself after other students allegedly beat him up during class, local ABC affiliate station 13 Action News reported.

“He was coming home with multiple bruises bloody noses. He was coming home saying he was going to kill himself. Just a numerous amount of things,” she told the station.

But instead of reassurance, the concerned parent got a damning earful from the teacher and a special education administrator who stayed on the scheduled Zoom call after the mom left the meeting, according to the outlet.

The parent, who was granted anonymity, was sent a recording and transcript of the full call — including the six minutes the teacher and administrator remained on the call after she logged off — by the school district.

In what the pair apparently believed was a private conversation, the teacher allegedly called the 6-year-old “annoying” and admitted that half of her young students say they hate their life and invoke suicide, the news station reported.

“He is annoying AF. It’s not like I don’t excuse this but I tried to tell mom this is a behavior classroom. All these kids are in here for a reason,” the teacher allegedly said.

The teacher also claimed that the child’s statements about killing himself were something he picked up from other students in the special education class.

“And he’s getting hurt and the thing about wanting to kill himself that’s a learned behavior,” the teacher reportedly said to the district administrator. “You know my class. All day long he screams, ‘I hate my life. I hate my life. I’ll kill myself’ and he did learn that in here. Half my class says that all day long,” the teacher said.

The little boy’s mom was shocked by what she heard.

“My 6-year-old saying he wanted to kill himself and it not being reported and her just saying it so calmly that’s a regular behavior in my class. It should be reported because kids are taking their lives every day,” the mother told Action News.

The teacher also allegedly spoke about another student, who was accused of beating up the parent’s child. The accused student’s name was redacted.

“[Redacted] beat him up? Oh yeah, [Redacted] is mean. Everyone always sees [Redacted] and like why is he in this class and I’m like [makes a face]… They’re like why is [Redacted] in that class because like he’s an attempted murderer,” the teacher allegedly said while laughing. “He will chase you down with his pencil.”

The Toledo school district has since launched an investigation, according to the local station.

“Toledo Public Schools is working with the administration at Reynolds Elementary to address questionable comments by two staff members following a parent meeting last Friday morning. The meeting was videotaped unbeknownst to those involved, and the district sent a link to the parent,” James Gant, Esq. Deputy Superintendent said in a statement to Action News.

“Toledo Public Schools holds its employees to the highest professional standards and will take additional and appropriate steps following the holiday, including possible disciplinary action.”

While the hurt mother said she hoped the school would do something about what happened on the call, she had already removed her son from the school, according to the outlet.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Every day, Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon walks past the countdown in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, a gentle reminder throughout the year of the matchup against Michigan and what’s to come in late November.

That reminder is no longer very gentle.

The Buckeyes matchup against the Wolverines on Saturday is set to take on a bit of a different tone than previous years, as 6-5 Michigan is looking to play spoiler over 10-1 Ohio State with a fourth-straight win over the Buckeyes.

But the countdown for Simon and other Ohio State seniors, more importantly, will reach 1,827 days on Saturday — the five-year stretch from Ohio State’s last win in the series in 2019 to its next potential win. It’s now the last chance for Simon, and for the entirety of the famed 2021 recruiting class, to get the job done.

“It’d just be everything,” Simon said of what a win would mean to him. “You can’t describe it with anything tangible. Just fulfillment in a lot of areas and joy for the team. And for all the seniors that came back, too.”

Senior receiver Emeka Egbuka knows exactly what he’d do after a win over Michigan, too.

“You come to Ohio State to beat The Team Up North, to win a pair of gold pants,” Egbuka said. “Just handing the gold pants to my mother is a memory I’m really looking forward to.”

That chance has never come, though. Ohio State has lost, in 2021, 2022 and 2023, to Michigan in equally deflating ways.

In 2021, it was because Michigan ran the ball at will right at, and through, Ohio State. In 2022, it was big plays allowed and three points scored in the second half that doomed the Buckeyes. And in 2023, Michigan played a mistake-free football game — with, once again, a ground-and-pound approach. Add in the sign-stealing scandal, and there’s a cloud over the last three years that no one can quite shake.

That, amongst other things, kept Egbuka and a bevy of other draft-eligible players from last year’s team on the fence about what to do with their futures. So when it came time to decide what to do for the 2024 season, the Michigan game certainly factored into the equation about nearly all of them returning for a last run.

“I think that we’re worried about what we got going on in our building,” Egbuka said. “We’re not too focused on the negative aspect of The Team Up North, but we’re focused on the positive energy and the love that we have for everybody in this building. So we’re going into that game ready to spill blood for each other because we love each other. Not necessarily going to war because we hate the other side.”

That hatred is certainly there, though. And it’s played out in part through coach Ryan Day, who has undergone the most criticism of anyone in the program since 2021.

“I think that he’s gone through a lot of things that a lot of people shouldn’t have to go through — all the scrutiny and all the stuff that people are saying about him,” Egbuka said. “But he’s a fantastic, great head coach and I wouldn’t have anybody else leading our team in the entire country. So we all have his back 100%, we’re rallying behind him and he says he wants to do this for us, but we also want to do it for him as well.”

Every player that has been around for a few years has come to the defense of Day, who has been at the center of it all — from the losses, to the sign-stealing scandal, to barbs from Michigan’s former head coach.

“He’s gone through so much, I don’t think he deserved any of that stuff he’s gone through,” Simon said. “He’s our leader, no matter he’s always standing in front of the team, and he’s taken all the heat. Taken all the bullets for everyone. If we can get this done for him, it would mean everything.”

It’s hard to encapsulate what “everything” would mean for the Buckeyes, but it also fits considering most players needed to take a beat when asked what the win would mean.

Ohio State is a program that hasn’t beaten its rival in almost 2,000 days. It has had to watch Michigan hoist a national title trophy and have the floor to make whatever comments they want.

Now, with a weakened rival and perhaps the best Ohio State team of the last four years, there’s one more chance — likely the best chance — for the Buckeye seniors to topple Michigan.

And when it comes to legacies for the Ohio State captains, beating Michigan is first on the list.

“It’s kind of hard to put into words,” Egbuka said of what playing in the rivalry is like. “I think over the last three years you kind of see the depths of the rivalry and how it affects people and all that type of stuff. So, for the most part, football is just a game, but this rivalry definitely runs deep. I think it’s hard to explain and put into words, but once you experience it, you kind of know.”

Doug Gottlieb had a lot to say about Ohio State.

Monday night, the first-year college coach brought his Green Bay Phoenix into Value City Arena and took a 102-69 loss. The Buckeyes never trailed, built a lead as high as 35 points and closed the game with a 44-18 run in the final 12:12 to improve to 5-1.

Stronger challenges lie just on the horizon for Ohio State, which hosts Pittsburgh on Friday to begin a home-and-home series before playing at Maryland and hosting Rutgers next week. First, though, was this game against Green Bay, and Gottlieb said there was plenty that concerned him about the Buckeyes.

It started on the defensive side of the ball.

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“They don’t have any weaknesses defensively,” Gottlieb, a longtime sports broadcaster who played collegiately for Notre Dame and Oklahoma State. “Everybody else we’ve played, we try and attack the weak link. Usually it’s a five-man, and we thought when Sean Stewart played, ‘Oh, we have more of a traditional big, we can expose them a little bit by spacing them out,’ but he just recovers so quickly and plays so hard.”

Playing their fourth road game in their last five games, all in the span of 12 days, the Phoenix finished with their lowest adjusted offensive efficiency rating of the season. According to KenPom, Ohio State limited Green Bay to 94.8 points per 100 possessions despite starting 6-9, 220-pound Sean Stewart at center. Gottlieb credited the versatility of not just Stewart but starting power forward Devin Royal (6-6, 220) and primary rotation player Evan Mahaffey, a 6-6, 200-pound wing.

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“Look, that’s a really well-coached team,” he said. “If you watch on tape and you look at the analytics, their defense is outstanding. Outstanding. It’s really, really connected, physical. We played Oklahoma State and they were physical, but it was kind of to the point of ridiculous where you could call a foul every time. They’re just physical but with really good intention.”

Ohio State committed a season-low 14 fouls against the Phoenix, out-rebounded Green Bay 37-23 and shot a season-best 64.9% from two-point range (24 for 37). Gottlieb credited that to Ohio State’s players buying into their specific roles under first-year coach Jake Diebler.

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“They’ve got (Evan Mahaffey) dialed in to, ‘All you’re going to do is rebound and defend and drive to the basket or cut to the basket,’ ” Gottlieb said. “They got Sean Stewart, ball screen roll or just be a big guy in the middle and they drive off him. They use him almost like a goalpost in the middle you’ve got to avoid. They are accepting their roles and they’re flourishing. Their perimeter players, all those guards can just go get buckets, and they’re allowed to take a couple chances defensively because they’ve got good anchors inside. They are elite, elite defensively.”

Gottlieb, who hosts a daily national sports talk show on Fox Sports Radio, saved his most effusive praise for junior guard Bruce Thornton, who had a season-high 25 points and nine assists in 29:36. Gottlieb described him as his favorite Ohio State point guard since Scoonie Penn or Jay Burson.

“Bruce was really the story,” he said. “Bruce and Meechie (Johnson Jr.), Meechie just with confidence and Bruce … he leads, shoots, scores, passes. He’s a big-time basketball player. The rest of the guys just defend and feed off his energy.”

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy

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