Ohio State places Meyer on paid administrative leave

COLUMBUS, Ohio (TNS) – Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer has been placed on paid administrative leave while the university investigates allegations that Meyer knew about a 2015 domesticabuse allegation against former receivers coach Zach Smith, and allowed Smith to remain on his staff for three years before firing him July 23.

“The university is conducting an investigation into these allegations ... We are focused on supporting our players and on getting to the truth as expeditiously as possible,” a statement from the university read.

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ryan Day will serve as acting head football coach.

Meyer also issued a statement:

“(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.”

Ohio State is set to open 2018 fall camp on Friday.

Zach Smith was fired last week after a report from Brett Mcmurphy revealed domestic-abuse allegations against Smith from his now ex-wife, Courtney Smith, in Florida in 2009 and in Ohio in 2015. Zach Smith was a graduate assistant on Meyer’s Florida staff in 2009.

Meyer said he was aware of the 2009 incident when it happened, that charges were never filed and that he and his wife Shelley counseled the Smiths.

He denied any knowledge of the 2015 incident, and said it had nothing to do with Smith’s dismissal.

Smith is facing a criminal trespass charge from an incident involving a child custody exchange with his ex-wife back in May of this year. Courtney Smith filed an order of protection against her ex-husband in Delaware, Ohio on July 20.

Zach Smith has never been charged with a domestic-violence crime.

A new report from Mcmurphy on Wednesday uncovered text exchanges between Courtney Smith and Shelley Meyer detailing the alleged 2015 abuse, and photos of bruises that Smith claimed to have shared with Shelley. In a video interview with Stadium, Courtney Smith said she believed Urban Meyer knew of the alleged abuse when it happened three years ago.

“I do believe he knew, and instead he chose to help the abuser, enable the abuser, and believe every story Zach was telling everybody,” Courtney Smith told Stadium.

She also said that the university was aware of a domestic-violence investigation into her ex-husband that ended without any charges.

“Nobody from the university came and asked me my side of the story,” Smith said. “They knew there was an investigation going on, and not once did anyone call me and ask me what happened. That’s a problem, and it needs to change.”

Mcmurphy’s reporting detailed that at the very least, Meyer’s wife and the wives of some his staff members were aware of the alleged abuse. A Nov. 5, 2015 text exchange between Courtney Smith and the wife of Brian Voltolini, Ohio State’s director of football operations, implied that Meyer had a discussion with Zach Smith about the alleged 2015 incident, and that Smith “denied everything.”

In her interview with Stadium, Courtney Smith said she did not know whether Shelley Meyer reported the alleged abuse to Urban Meyer.

Meyer was adamant that he had no knowledge of the alleged 2015 incident, even suggesting at one point during Big Ten media days last week that the whole thing was possibly made up. He later said he had his staff look into it, and they couldn’t find anything. He said he was never made aware of a 2015 incident involving Zach Smith.