Urban Meyer knew of assistant’s abuse allegations in 2015: report

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Urban Meyer at the 2018 Big Ten media days. | Annie Rice/AP Photo

Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer knew of domestic abuse allegations against a member of his coaching staff in 2015, according to text messages obtained by Brett McMurphy, the former ESPN college football expert who is now unemployed.

This information comes a week after Meyer claimed he had no idea about the 2015 allegations against former receivers coach Zach Smith. He claimed if he had known, he would have fired Smith in 2015.

When asked specifically about the situation at Big Ten media days in Chicago, Meyer said he knew “nothing about it.”

“I was never told about anything,” Meyer said last week. “Never anything came to light, never had a conversation about it. So I know nothing about it. I asked people back at the office to call and see what happened, and they came back and said they know nothing.”

According to McMurphy’s report, “Courtney Smith, ex-wife of fired Ohio State assistant coach Zach Smith, provided text messages between her and the wives of Ohio State coaches — including Urban Meyer’s wife, Shelley — showing Meyer’s knowledge of the situation.”

McMurphy also reports that Shelley Meyer and Courtney Smith talked frequently about the domestic violence, and Shelley told Courtney she would tell Meyer.

“Shelley said she was going to have to tell Urban,” Courtney told McMurphy. “I said: ‘That’s fine, you should tell Urban.’ I know Shelley did everything she could.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if Shelley Meyer actually reported the domestic violence to Urban Meyer.

McMurphy reports that on Oct. 25, 2015, Courtney and Zach separated, which ended in assault.

“He took me and shoved me up against the wall, with his hands around my neck,” Courtney said. “Something he did very often. My (then 3-year old) daughter was clinging to my leg. It obviously registered with him what he was doing, so he took my (then 5-year old) son and left. So I called the police.”

Smith has a track record of of domestic abuse. In 2009, as a graduate assistant at Florida under Meyer, he was arrested for domestic abuse against his then-pregnant wife. Meyer admitted at Big Ten media days he knew about the 2009 incident.

“What was reported wasn’t actually what happened,” Meyer said of the 2009 incident. “It’s a very personal matter.”

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