Urban Meyer has spoken publicly for the first time since being placed on a three-game suspension, levied by Ohio State following an investigation into his alleged knowledge of a history of domestic violence accusations involving former assistant coach Zach Smith.

Meyer, who was accused of knowing of Smith’s checkered past in a report from Brett McMurphy, gave Tom Rinaldi and ESPN an exclusive interview, discussing the situation involving Smith and how things could’ve been handled better. It was the first time he has spoken publicly since being placed on suspension by the Ohio State Board of Trustees.

On Sunday, Meyer’s interview with ESPN aired.

“I knew what I knew,” Meyer said when asked why he didn’t know more about the situation involving his assistant coach. “I knew in 2009 there was an incident and I was led to believe by both parties that it was not domestic violence.”

Meyer was asked what he did after finding out about the 2009 arrest.

“I believe it was the next day I found out about it,” he said. “Both parties came to see me. I asked about it and I was told it was not domestic violence, (Courtney Smith) told me she was upset with (Zach Smith) for drinking.

“I recall being told and believing, that this was not domestic violence, that she threw him out of the house and there were no charges.”

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After talking about the 2009 situation involving Smith, Rinaldi asked Meyer what reservations he had about hiring Zach Smith when he took over at Ohio State in 2012.

“I wanted someone with some familiarity with my offense,” Meyer said. “And Zach seemed like a guy that was doing very well. I checked on him, did background checks with the coaches he worked with, they came back with very high marks, so I made the decision to hire him at Ohio State.”

McMurphy reported before the start of B1G Media Days that Smith had been arrested in 2015 for a domestic violence incident against his then-wife Courtney Smith.

Smith was fired shortly after the report was made public.

Meyer said in retrospect it was a “bad decision” to hire Smith.

Rinaldi later asked Meyer whether he lived up to the two values he preaches to his team; honesty and respect toward woman. And Meyer didn’t budge much, saying he still believes those are the two most important values.

“I still hold those values so firm, so strong,” Meyer said. “I apologize for the perception that I don’t.”

The 2015 domestic violence allegations were still a topic of discussion as well. Meyer was asked why he didn’t take action after his wife, Shelley Meyer, received texts with photographs that appear to show Courtney Smith was abused.

“The first time I heard of those texts was recently, within the last month,” Meyer said. “Shelley didn’t share those messages with me.”

Rinaldi hammered Meyer near the end of the interview, asking him who protected Courtney Smith during this time.

“That’s a tough question, now that all the information is out,” Meyer said.

He said he believed he made the right decisions at the time.

Though Meyer returned to practice after Week 1, the Ohio State head will be coaching in his first game this season.