Ohio State Places Urban Meyer on Administrative Leave
Ohio State has placed head football coach Urban Meyer on paid administrative leave while the school investigates charges that the three-time National Champion coach knew about domestic abuse allegations involving one of his assistants.
The bombshell announcement came Wednesday, hours after respected college football writer Brett McMurphy posted an article on his Facebook page that contradicted claims Meyer made last week that he was never told about the abuse allegations three years ago against receivers coach Zach Smith.
Ohio State fired Smith on July 23, three days after Smith’s ex-wife, Courtney, filed a civil protection order against him. Smith had been charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing in May.
McMurphy said he has obtained text messages between Courtney Smith and several other coaches’ spouses, including Shelley Meyer, the head coach’s wife, that suggest Meyer had been aware of the abuse allegations long before the incident last month that lead to Zach Smith’s dismissal.
During last week’s Big-10 Media Day, Urban Meyer denied any knowledge of the Smiths’ situation, claiming a 2009 report of abuse between the couple did not contain accurate details.
“In 2009, Zach was an intern,” Meyer told reporters. “As I do any time, and I imagine most coaches or people in leadership positions, when you receive a phone call, first thing you do is tell your boss. Let the experts do their jobs. We’re certainly not going to investigate. It came back to me that what was reported wasn’t what actually happened. So Shelley and I actually both got involved with the relationship with that family, and provided counseling, and wanted to help them moving forward.”
McMurphy indicated that Meyer’s defiance at that time was clear.
Urban Meyer said “what was reported” about Zach Smith from the 2009 arrest at Florida was “not accurate.” All of that information I reported came directly from the police report
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 24, 2018
McMurphy’s research indicates that the first time Smith allegedly abused his wife was in 2009, when Zach Smith was an intern at the University of Florida with Meyer. At that time, Courtney Smith was two months pregnant.
Smith followed his mentor to Ohio State, where the school won the National Championship in 2015.
Courtney Smith filed for divorce from Zach in December of 2015.
In a video posted Wednesday to the sports website Stadium, Courtney Smith said she sent pictures of her injuries via text message to Shelley Meyer and discussed her troubled relationship with her ex-husband on the phone with her.
EXCLUSIVE: Longtime Urban Meyer assistant Zach Smith's ex-wife, Courtney Smith, opens up about reported domestic violence and what she believes Meyer knew. pic.twitter.com/dNWA9x2F4y
— Stadium (@Stadium) August 1, 2018
“Shelley said she was going to have to tell Urban,” Courtney Smith told the website in a taped interview. “I said, ‘That’s fine. You should tell Urban. We can’t have somebody like this coaching young men.’”
Smith told McMurphy that the wives of other Ohio State assistant coaches also knew of the allegations against her husband.
“All the (coaches) wives knew,” Smith told McMurphy. “They all did. Every single one.”
A 2015 text message shared by Courtney Smith between her and Shelley Meyer that was reported by McMurphy certainly raises questions about who knew what when.
Shelley Meyer: “I am with you! A lot of women stay hoping it will get better. I don’t blame you! But just want u to be safe. Do you have a restraining order? He scares me”
Courtney Smith: “Restraining orders don’t do anything in Ohio-I tried to get protection order which is what started this whole investigation. And that should go through soon finally. It’s hard bc you have to prove immediate danger. Legal system is tough. Basically you have to prove he will kill u to get protective order”
Such an exchange doesn’t necessarily implicate the head coach if his wife kept that conversation private. But at last week’s Media Day, Urban Meyer went into detail about the relationship between he and his wife.
“She’s always weighed in as my best friend and soul mate,” Urban said. “She’s been right there with everything. Especially when you’re dealing with — not who’s going to carry the ball on third down, she has an opinion on that too — we chat about people. She has a great spirit. A great love of people. Her heart is always in the right place. She’s phenomenal. Absolutely I rely on her.”
A violation of Title IX is grounds for the school to fire Meyer with cause.
Because Shelley Meyer works as an instructor at Ohio’s State College of Nursing, she too could be in violation of Title IX if she failed to inform anyone about Courtney Smith’s allegations.
The Buckeyes are scheduled to open training camp on Friday.
Meyer issued a statement showing support to the school. “[Athletic director] Gene [Smith] and I agree that being on leave during this inquiry will facilitate its completion. This allows the team to conduct training camp with minimal distraction. I eagerly look forward to the resolution of this matter.”
Offensive coordinator Ryan Day will serve as acting head coach while Meyer is away.
The Buckeyes, who are expected to contend for another championship, open their season Sept. 1 against Oregon State.
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