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Urban Meyer explains hiring of Zach Smith, handling of domestic violence allegations
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Urban Meyer attended his weekly press conference on Monday, marking the first time he made a public appearance for the media since B1G Media Days in July. And the head coach addressed several issues in a lengthy first meeting.
In his opening statement, which lasted around 15 minutes, Meyer addressed several topics, most of which related to Zach Smith, domestic violence, his suspension and his inaccurate statement at B1G Media Days.
Meyer went into great detail about the decision to hire Smith in 2012 when he first took the job at Ohio State and discussed his relationship with Smith, including the domestic violence allegations, over the years.
He was very thorough and very detailed in his explanation. Here’s what Meyer had to say about bringing Smith to Columbus, how he handled the allegations and the termination process:
Urban Meyer: “In 2015, Gene Smith came up to me on the practice field and told me there was a domestic incident involving Zach and Courtney. We were both furious. I told him if it was a domestic incident, he was fired immediately.”
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 17, 2018
Meyer said it was in middle of the up-and-down '15 season but he followed the case. Meyer was told "by law enforcement" that there was not domestic abuse but it was a messy marriage/divorce.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) September 17, 2018
Urban Meyer says in 2015 police told him that there was no domestic violence between Zach and Courtney Smith, "just a messy divorce with child custody issues."
— Dan Murphy (@DanMurphyESPN) September 17, 2018
In 2015, Meyer learned of domestic violence accusations against Smith and told him that he would he fired if it was. He said he was told by "law enforcement" that it was not domestic violence but instead was a marriage going through a "messy divorce."
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) September 17, 2018
Meyer said he made a decision that he talked with GSmith about the situation to put ZSmith in counseling. He said he was aware of ZSmith's credit-card issues when he was paying for two homes and had maxed out his cards.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) September 17, 2018
Meyer said "I actually thought we made it through it," referring to ZSmith's issues.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) September 17, 2018
Meyer says he was "made aware" that Smith had credit card issues and was "supporting two homes." He also learned that he had issues with prescription pills.
But he thought he made it through it and was doing better in '16, '17 and early '18.
"I thought we made it through it."
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) September 17, 2018
Meyer said he was on vacation when he was made aware about the criminal trespass charge. Meyer said it was two months earlier, and he was "so angry" that he didn't tell Meyer when it happened.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) September 17, 2018
In Chicago, Meyer is told on the Monday about the protective order vs ZSmith and again was angry ZSmith had not told him about it. That's when he started process of firing him.
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) September 17, 2018
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