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Audio: Ohio State marching band director Waters recorded in vulgar tirade

While no worse than many heated locker room exchanges, now ex-TBDBITL director Jon Waters finds himself at the center of more controversy after the Dispatch surfaced audio of him berating a student.

The Columbus Dispatch obtained a recording of Jon Waters, the mired in controversy now former director of Ohio State's marching band, berating an apparent drum major for disobeying him.

In the recording, which contains a number of obscenities, Waters says the following:

  • "You f***ing better realize who you're dealing with."
  • "And as drum major, you'll stand on your god damned head."
  • "And that's why we did it a second f***ing time."
  • "You had a problem with the god damned media."
  • "If you ever do that again after we've given you a direct god damned order, you're through."

The nature of the dialogue is extremely pointed and confrontational, but also no different from what many of us heard playing high school or higher level sports during heated exchanges with our own coaches. Any references to any of the sexualized culture or conditions which could lead to sexual harassment that ultimately were outlined in Ohio State's reasoning for terminating Waters are absent from the recording, which was also made apparently without Waters' knowing.