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Report: Urban Meyer’s apology not intended to ‘affirm’ Courtney Smith’s account of events

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

On Friday evening, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer issued a statement apologizing to Courtney Smith and all victims of relationship violence.

But Meyer’s apology was not intended to affirm Courtney Smith’s account of the domestic violence charges against her ex-husband and former Buckeyes assistant coach Zach Smith.

According to Eleven Warriors, a source close to the situation said that “while the apology is sincere,” Meyer’s statement in “no way affirms” Smith’s statement “based on information he received from law enforcement.”

Meyer’s apology on Twitter came just two days after making a public statement at an Ohio State press conference in which it was announced the head coach would serve a three-game suspension.

After the apology, Stadium’s Brett McMurphy, who has been the lead reporter on the situation, believed Meyer’s words were an affirmation of Smith’s account.

In his apology, Meyer made the following statements:

“My words and demeanor on Wednesday did not show how seriously I take relationship violence. I sincerely apologize,” Meyer wrote. “I was taught at a very young age that if I ever hit a woman, I would be kicked out of the house and never welcomed back. I have the same rule in my house and in the Football Program at Ohio State. Over the years, we have worked hard to educate and remind our coaches and players of the seriousness of relationship violence.”

Ohio State will play its first three games of the 2018 season without Meyer on the sideline as the head coach will miss games against Oregon State, Rutgers and TCU.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB