Two prominent Ohio State beat writers were fired from their podcasting roles on Friday.
Jeremy Birmingham and Austin Ward, who still cover Ohio State for Rivals, were terminated from their podcasting duties. They hosted THE Podcast, which they co-hosted alongside longtime OSU beat writer Doug Lesmerises.
According to screenshots of a text message that circulated on social media, Lesmerises informed subscribers of their departure while announcing the shutdown of the company’s text alert service. He noted Birmingham and Ward were terminated “for cause” but did not provide further details.
“At this time, we believe it appropriate to remind you that canceling is as easy as typing STOP,” Lesmerises wrote. “We anticipate providing additional information next week. In the meantime, we understand your decision should you choose to cancel your subscription and want to do everything in our power to maintain your trust as we contemplate our future coverage.”
This is what Doug just said ab it probably not good hearing they stole money from downs on 11 warriors pic.twitter.com/SBVGVqiwqF
— AB (@OSUFAN718) April 4, 2025
Then came the rumors.
A post from a longtime insider on the Eleven Warriors message board quickly went viral, sparking speculation about the reasons behind Birmingham and Ward’s sudden exit from THE Podcast.
According to the post, which has now been widely distributed across social media, Birmingham and Ward were allegedly backed by the financial group responsible for delivering up to 80% of Ohio State head coach Ryan Day’s direct NIL payments to players. The post accuses the two of mishandling NIL funds in a deal involving star safety Caleb Downs.
Specifically, the allegation claims Birmingham and Ward brokered a $25,000 NIL agreement for Downs to promote their brand but only paid him $5,000, pocketing the rest.
TheOracle has had a lot of juice in the past. (And since multiple people have asked me: No, it’s not me.)
But! The allegations are basically Birm and Austin Ward swindled money from Caleb Downs. But they’re still covering the team for Rivals? Wild, stuff. https://t.co/7o1vrrEPoW pic.twitter.com/Ei9AhFhTR5
— The Rooster (@rooster_ohio) April 4, 2025
Neither Rivals nor THE Media has commented on the specifics behind their dismissal.
However, Ward has unequivocally denied the allegations.
Absolutely not.
— Austin Ward (@AWardSports) April 4, 2025
He also provided a statement.
“The ’cause’ of the matter is a sponsorship for a recent series that the company alleges that I directly profited from and accuses me of theft,” Ward wrote. “This is unequivocally, demonstrably false, and all records can prove that easily.”
— Austin Ward (@AWardSports) April 4, 2025
Birmingham, meanwhile, has yet to address the matter publicly, but replied to a since-deleted post by calling it “patently false and libelous.”
Whether this is a messy business dispute or something more serious remains to be seen. We’ll update this story as more information becomes available.
