Paul Finebaum trashes Zach Smith, Urban Meyer: Their defense strategy is throwing Courtney Smith under the bus
Urban Meyer broke his silence Friday afternoon after he defended himself in a lengthy statement. Meyer is currently on paid administrative leave from the program as it investigates domestic abuse allegations against former assistant Zach Smith from 2015.
A little bit later Smith also appeared on a Columbus radio station and SportsCenter to defend himself against the allegations from his ex-wife, Courtney. Interestingly, Smith claims that Ohio State AD Gene Smith was also aware of the allegations in 2015.
Smith denied the claims on ESPN and said he never abused his wife, but a text message from CFB reporter Brent McMurphy appears to show otherwise.
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ESPN’s Paul Finebaum read and listened to both statements, and he was fired up. He appeared on SportsCenter to share his thoughts, and he didn’t hold back.
“(Meyer) lied, let’s not sugar coat it,” Finebaum said. “If he would lie then, how should we believe he would not be lying at the next interview or the next inquisition? I found his statement today to be utterly laughable. That Urban Meyer, one of the greatest coaches in modern college football history, who has won games against Michigan on the goal line in overtime, was unprepared at Big Ten Media Days. That just doesn’t fly with me and I don’t think it’s going to fly with anyone else.
“This is a PR stunt that we are watching today. That Urban Meyer’s letter to the alums comes out simultaneously to Zach Smith’s interview. There are so many disturbing aspects to what Urban Meyer said but not nearly as many as I just heard with Dan’s (SportsCenter interview: that interview can be found here) with Zach Smith. I just cringe.
“I cringe listening to this man, and I’ll throw Urban Meyer in here as well. Throwing his ex-wife (Courtney Smith) under the bus. That is apparently the defense at Ohio State. ‘Let’s blame it on her. She was the aggressor, not me!’
“I’ll tell you something, I watched both interviews — as everyone has by now, Zach vs. Courtney — I believe her. She looks like a victim, she sounds like a victim and she looked like a victim when you see the bruises and the scars and the blood, she looks exactly like someone that has been beaten up by an abuser. By someone who has no regard for women. I didn’t hear anything from him that was credible. Everything was an excuse, everything was blame the other person and if that’s what Ohio State wants to put up and put out as their defense then good for them.”