I'm disappointed by the amount of unsubstantiated victim blaming here.

 

 

Some updates on police reports: https://www.10tv.com/article/police-records-show-3-years-domestic-dispute-reports-filed-zach-smiths-ex-wife

Powell police reports reveal Courtney Smith filed nine police reports between January 2012 and July of this year.

Zach Smith is now facing a criminal trespass charge and Courtney Smith has filed a domestic violence civil protection order against him.

A hearing on the civil protection order is scheduled for September in a Delaware County courtroom.

 

 

Filing a police report is much different than pressing charges or having him arrested. A police report will not go on his record and nobody is ever notified of a police call. in order for the University or coaching staff to find out about it, they have to regularly call the police department and ask if there have been any police runs or fire runs to the house of its coaches. It is not unreasonable that the school would not find this information out because you regularly need to be inquiring about police calls to a home address. Also, all you get with that is a 2-3 line police blotter with very little detail to go off of. So the fact that the university or Urban should have known about the 9 prior calls to the house is very misleading and overblown. Also, if she had the propensity to call the police when there was no emergency, it is easy to overlook some of these calls meritless.

There is an internet message board rumor going around. The gist is that Urban would be looking at 3-4 game suspension, multiple people at OSU knew and reported it to police. The police were called 66 times in 90 days and eventually stopped responding because C. Smith was a crazy drunk who called the police during fights.

 

That is the, as of now, unsubstantiated rumor going around the internet.  No one has named a source other than a "friend" close to the program.  Posting it now to see if it comes to fruition in the coming days.

 

I read the same rumor on the message board.  Said she called 911 dozens of times saying he was beating her/chasing her, and he was on campus at the time.  At the end, 911 stopped sending a car.  Powell police apparently testified on Zach's behalf at the divorce hearing.  The woman allegedly freaked out when Zach was going to lose his job because that meant her child support (means of living) was going to drop way down as she doesn't work.  All this is total rumor mill of course but if it's true at all, it would explain why none of the other coaches' wives did anything when she was texting them all...

 

Even when you are telling the truth, if you have a veracity to exaggerate, it is reasonable why someone may not take your claims seriously. A long time ago we rented an apartment to a crazy lady who used to call all the time about her abusive boyfriend amongst other things. While the boyfriend thing was concerning, she also said that people were spying on her through her TV and accused me of bugging her apartment (which was obviously untrue). It became almost a daily barrage of messages at one point about how people are snooping in her place, her boyfriend was hitting her and the landlord was stalking her. It got so bad that she even called the police on me and accused me of yelling obscenities at her from the hallway when in fact I was out of town. We tried sending a mental health professional to evaluate her one time but she refused to let them in. The police quit taking her seriously too because she made up stories. However, shortly after all of this, her boyfriend did come back and beat her so bad she ended up in the hospital.

 

While I felt bad for her, it was her propensity to exaggerate and make up stories that kept us from taking her domestic violence claims seriously. It can be very reasonable for Urban or anyone to dismiss her claims given prior history and her constant problem with exaggerating the truth (if that is the case)

At other universities in Ohio, any time a professor even SUSPECTS that there is a domestic abuse situation, they are required to report that to a compliance officer.  So if Urban failed to do so as required, that could put him in hot water with university requirements at OSU. 

Urban's statement is out. Says he knew about 2015 and reported up the chain of command.

 

So his defense is he lied to the media/public and knowingly employed a credibly accused domestic abuser (who he knew about six years earlier in 2009) for three more years.

Here is the full statement released by Urban Meyer on Friday afternoon:

 

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2018/08/94910/urban-meyer-says-he-reported-2015-zach-smith-incident-and-apologizes-for-answers-at-big-ten-media-days

He's not going to stop; none of them do. They think beating is what keeps the female around not realizing it's their built-in verbal manipulation that does. All of these POSes are "smooth", which a defense mechanism one can only  develop by having major problems.

 

 

I watched a few videos of this guy.  In all cases he keeps licking his lips and is absurdly confident.  So there very well might have been some drug use going on. 

 

 

 

 

Plenty of press in Seabus by now on this couple. Dude cannot shut up and talks way too fast like the Shamwow guy. Clearly a POS. Wife is also unhinged and seems to like attention. Still, there is no excuse for his behavior and he knows it. It's a shame that guys like this can reach that level due to their technical knowledge. This is the kind of stuff people can sort of get away with in their 20s but by their 30s people are going to start really calling them out.

Amazingly the guy is only 34 years old:

https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/zach-smith-footballplayer.html

 

The guy at once seems like a little kid and the 55 year-old hot head coaches I remember from little league.  These kinds of people always have a black-and-white way they use language.  Everything is absolutes and centers around action.  They always have the perfect item at the tip of their tongue to keep them in control of the situation, facts or morals be damned.

 

 

well if we are going to speculate a bit — i rewatched that zach smiths red face interview — yeah he is out in the sun for his job, but its more than that. its the red leathery look and the mannerisms. it looks like he has a history druggy and alcky type liver problems on his face. just speculation of course, but it made me think about it because i see a lot of longtime drunken stumblebums and homeless around everyday who look just like that.

I didn’t expect him to own it.  They have a path to clearing their name by calling her batsh!t crazy.  Good ole boy club, they have the power and resources behind them.  We will see what the Ohio state investigation produces.  Im a casual buckeye fan, but will never have more passion for sports than human decency. Part of me wants another situation where the hammer falls hard to continue to put fear in those interested in cover ups or corruption.  The college football fans need to demand better of their programs. Who the hell cares about winning, it’s just sports

Here's my prediction:

 

Urban/Gene Smith/OSU will say they let the police investigation run its course in regards to Zach Smith in 2015. The police didn't arrest/press charges so in their eyes Zach was cleared.  They couldn't terminate without proof. They can't play prosecutor and judge, that's the police/DA's job to investigate.

 

I don't agree with it, but I'm guessing that's their story.

 

I don't know the details on 2018 and what led to his firing because if I remember I thought it sounded similar to what's coming out about 2015.  Is that right?

 

Either way, Urban knew about 2009, hired him again in 2011, knew about 2015, but waited until 2018 to cut ties?  Doesn't look good.

Either way, Urban knew about 2009, hired him again in 2011, knew about 2015, but waited until 2018 to cut ties?  Doesn't look good.

 

Maybe this whole time Urban Meyer was afraid that this Zach Smith character and his wife were going to pull something like what they're doing right now - basically keep those $350k checks coming my way or else.  Smith strikes me as a plotting and manipulative character. 

 

Here's my prediction:

 

Urban/Gene Smith/OSU will say they let the police investigation run its course in regards to Zach Smith in 2015. The police didn't arrest/press charges so in their eyes Zach was cleared.  They couldn't terminate without proof. They can't play prosecutor and judge, that's the police/DA's job to investigate.

 

I don't agree with it, but I'm guessing that's their story.

 

I don't know the details on 2018 and what led to his firing because if I remember I thought it sounded similar to what's coming out about 2015.  Is that right?

 

Either way, Urban knew about 2009, hired him again in 2011, knew about 2015, but waited until 2018 to cut ties?  Doesn't look good.

 

 

The new media narrative is that he should be fired because he kept him after 2015 when these allegations arose and that it was irresponsible to allow him to coach young players when he allegedly beat his wife.

 

I find this to be a horrible standard to hold people too. Yes, Smith is a piece of trash if he beat his wife. Courtney's story is compelling, but we also don t know all the facts, and we also do not know the history about her and Zach. 

 

Due Process is something that society seems quick to cast away. It would have been irresponsible to fire Zach in 2015 based on the allegations of his ex, without further investigation. If that further investigation proved inconclusive, you let him continue coaching. It appears that the 2015 incident proved inconclusive. That happens more often than not. Even though what he allegedly did may have been horrible, you don't take away someone's livelihood based on allegations that are not proveable. Everyone deserves Due Process.

The media has made up their narrative to hang the guy and now hang Urban. This is irresponsible if we are a country that values innocent until proven guilty and would rather let 100 criminals go free than to put an innocent person in jail.

 

 

If they fire Urban when he followed proper protocol then he is going to sue the shit out of OSU.  Just like Smith would have if he got fired in 2015. 

Whatever happened to the media reporting on the story instead of trying to make the story. I have no issue with McMurphy's breaking this story, however, what annoys me is that he is taking the events and news and spinning a narrative that is a bit misleading and completely tramples over due process rights. It is good to believe the victim, but at least look into why the situation in 2015 was handled as it was.

I'll be candid here - I'm not an OSU fan because I think they have one of the most obnoxious fan bases in sports.

 

This past week has kind of solidified that. I have a buddy from college - who did not go to OSU - who suggested on Twitter this week that Courtney Smith was being paid off for these allegations.

I think there's a ton of spin on this story, but to be fair, it's a huge story - Meyer is arguably one of the top coaches in college FB, second only to Saban.  Any sort of a takedown piece on him or OSU is going to be a big story

 

The reporting on the matter is very inconsistent - what Courtney Smith says, what police knew, what university knew, what actually happened, all appear to be different things.

 

I don't doubt at all that people from the football or athletic program were actively working to keep this story quiet, including paying Ms. Smith a visit, possibly giving her financial incentive to keep it from going public.  But if Meyer says he followed protocol back in 2015, and university backs that up, it's probably a closed matter.  If Zach Smith was pulled off a recruiting trip back then, that might be evidence that Meyer reported it up the ladder.

 

The marital issues of this couple appear to be something worthy of a reality show, which is unfortunate

I'll be candid here - I'm not an OSU fan because I think they have one of the most obnoxious fan bases in sports.

 

As an OSU fan and alum, I do get what you're saying here.  But I also feel that its a vast overstatement.

 

Every fan base in every city of every sport has some level of obnoxiousness to it.  After all, fan is short for fanatic.  But OSU having "the most obnoxious fan bases in sports"?  Tell that to the Boston Red Sox fans.  Or the New York Yankees fans.  Or the New England Patriots fans.  Or the Philadelphia Eagles fans.  Or the Chicago Cubs fans.  Or, okay I'll stop - there are probably other fan bases that similarly annoy people.

 

I don't even think Ohio State has the most obnoxious fans in college football.  The level of obnoxiousness in any number of SEC and Texas team fans will make you think OSU fans are the most polite and the fairest in the land!  My point is that every fan base is going to demonstrate some level of obnoxiousness to someone at sometime.  In other words - it ain't just Ohio State.

I'll be candid here - I'm not an OSU fan because I think they have one of the most obnoxious fan bases in sports.

 

As an OSU fan and alum, I do get what you're saying here.  But I also feel that its a vast overstatement.

 

Every fan base in every city of every sport has some level of obnoxiousness to it.  After all, fan is short for fanatic.  But OSU having "the most obnoxious fan bases in sports"?  Tell that to the Boston Red Sox fans.  Or the New York Yankees fans.  Or the New England Patriots fans.  Or the Philadelphia Eagles fans.  Or the Chicago Cubs fans.  Or, okay I'll stop - there are probably other fan bases that similarly annoy people.

 

I don't even think Ohio State has the most obnoxious fans in college football.  The level of obnoxiousness in any number of SEC and Texas team fans will make you think OSU fans are the most polite and the fairest in the land!  My point is that every fan base is going to demonstrate some level of obnoxiousness to someone at sometime.  In other words - it ain't just Ohio State.

 

I've seen games at UT, LSU, VaTech, Mich St., BC, OSU, USC, Notre Dame, and UGA - from that polling sample, OSU takes the cake.

 

Again though, the "what about" attitude you just put on other fanbases, which may be fair, is the same exact attitude I think OSU fans would be in right now if it were Kirby Smart, D'Antoni, or Gary Patterson in trouble - calling for their heads.

I'll be candid here - I'm not an OSU fan because I think they have one of the most obnoxious fan bases in sports.

 

As an OSU fan and alum, I do get what you're saying here.  But I also feel that its a vast overstatement.

 

Every fan base in every city of every sport has some level of obnoxiousness to it.  After all, fan is short for fanatic.  But OSU having "the most obnoxious fan bases in sports"?  Tell that to the Boston Red Sox fans.  Or the New York Yankees fans.  Or the New England Patriots fans.  Or the Philadelphia Eagles fans.  Or the Chicago Cubs fans.  Or, okay I'll stop - there are probably other fan bases that similarly annoy people.

 

I don't even think Ohio State has the most obnoxious fans in college football.  The level of obnoxiousness in any number of SEC and Texas team fans will make you think OSU fans are the most polite and the fairest in the land!  My point is that every fan base is going to demonstrate some level of obnoxiousness to someone at sometime.  In other words - it ain't just Ohio State.

 

I've seen games at UT, LSU, VaTech, Mich St., BC, OSU, USC, Notre Dame, and UGA - from that polling sample, OSU takes the cake.

 

Again though, the "what about" attitude you just put on other fanbases, which may be fair, is the same exact attitude I think OSU fans would be in right now if it were Kirby Smart, D'Antoni, or Gary Patterson in trouble - calling for their heads.

 

I have no wish to get into an argument or an off-topic back-and-forth with you on this.  But I did feel it necessary to at least answer the very candid "I think they (OSU) have one of the most obnoxious fan bases in sports" statement.  As for everything else, I'll just say that you are entitled to your opinion.

Here's my prediction:

 

Urban/Gene Smith/OSU will say they let the police investigation run its course in regards to Zach Smith in 2015. The police didn't arrest/press charges so in their eyes Zach was cleared.  They couldn't terminate without proof. They can't play prosecutor and judge, that's the police/DA's job to investigate.

 

It's hard to disagree with this. There is a certain level of bureaucracy to hide behind.

^ Most obnoxious fan bases are all in the SEC from what I have seen - Florida, LSU, Bama fans are all obnoxious.

 

Mich State fans are bad although less so because they have not won much. Wisconsin fans are a bit obnoxious too from my experience.

 

OSU is definitely in the top 5-10 of obnoxious fan bases (and I am a big OSU fan), but would not say they are the worst by any standard as I have seen far worse.

 

That being said, I will take my sons to a Notre Dame game any day and not have an issue but will not take them to a game at Ohio State until they are at least 10 years old.

I was a student at UT when Peyton Manning was QB.  Grown men were in love with Peyton Manning.  They wept, they had the shakes, they bit their pillows. 

 

I have never seen that sort of character cult in Big 10.  The only think in the north that came close was the worshiping of The Rocket Ismail. 

You need to spend more time with IU fans, they are the most irrational fans I've met. They still believe they are one of the most important college basketball programs in the country despite decades of mediocrity and being at best the 4th best program in the Big 10 currently. Cult of character literally defines their incessant love of Bob Knight despite him being an objectively bad person.

 

OSU fans are numerous, but not very obnoxious. I've found that the smaller yet more vocal fanbases are much worse due to their little brother syndromes (Indiana, Lousville, Clemson, etc.) where the bigger fanbases have their vocal crazies, but they are tempered by their sheer size (Ohio State, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Alabama etc.)

So anywhere from 30 to 200 people showed up at the Support Urban Meyer rally yesterday.  Pretty small number for a metro area of 2+ million and some people coming from out of town.

 

Still dumb for that many people to gather outside the stadium on a Monday and make signs and yell.  What did it accomplish?  Is Urban Meyer watching Fox 28 from his living room and thinking, "WHEW! At least these ~200 people support me no matter what!"

 

People need to vent. There was a crowd that rallied outside of Tressel's house when he was fired. It is cathartic.

 

 

Zeke and his dad coming to support him isn't a good look either. I'm sure Urban would rather keep other domestic abusers out of his corner...

Zeke and his dad coming to support him isn't a good look either. I'm sure Urban would rather keep other domestic abusers out of his corner...

 

Ezekiel Elliott's dad showed up, too.

 

EDIT - thought you said "Zach and his dad" as in Zach Smith.

So now Courtney Smith's mother is saying that she thinks her own daughter is lying.

the more details dripping out about this woman and her allegedly crazy behavior makes me wonder why the reporter (ex ESPN guy) actually ran with the story? 

The latest twists in the Zach Smith / Urban saga are that Tom Herman was the source who tipped off Brett McMurphy (both have denied it) AND that Zach Smith was arrested in 2013 for OVI, which went previously unreported.

 

There is some other family drama being aired via Facebook as well.  Crazy that the wildest college football story of the year is all being reported (and refuted) via Facebook.  2018 is weird.

The latest twists in the Zach Smith / Urban saga are that Tom Herman was the source who tipped off Brett McMurphy (both have denied it) AND that Zach Smith was arrested in 2013 for OVI, which went previously unreported.

 

There is some other family drama being aired via Facebook as well.  Crazy that the wildest college football story of the year is all being reported (and refuted) via Facebook.  2018 is weird.

 

Government is being done via twitter. So yeah, 2018

Crazy that the wildest college football story of the year is all being reported (and refuted) via Facebook.  2018 is weird.

 

At this point I think Double Secret Probation suffices for Meyer.

Update from the Dispatch:  Urban Meyer investigation: Michael Drake says inquiry will be ‘finished when it’s finished’

 

Full article at http://www.thisweeknews.com/sports/20180817/urban-meyer-investigation-michael-drake-says-inquiry-will-be-finished-when-its-finished

 

Ohio State University president Michael V. Drake said on Thursday that the investigation into football coach Urban Meyer’s response to domestic abuse allegations against a former assistant might not end by Sunday as initially expected.  “That’s the projected goal,” Drake said on WOSU’s “All Sides with Ann Fisher.”  “It will be finished when it’s finished.”

 

When details of the investigative committee were announced by OSU on Aug. 5, the news release stated that its task was “expected to be completed within 14 days.”

 

Ohio State’s training camp began Aug. 3 and its season starts Sept. 1.  Meyer is on paid administrative leave and barred from any contact with the team while Ryan Day serves as the team’s acting coach.

 

Drake acknowledged the time pressure but added, “The most important thing is to get good information so we can make the right decisions moving forward.”

Why even come out with a timeline if it's really an indefinite thing?

 

Plus, Drake's a bit disingenuous - they have a $500k budget.  They'll finish when it's finished...but they'll also finish if they run out of money, I presume.

Another update from the Dispatch:

 

(Full article link) http://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20180817/ohio-state-investigation-into-urban-meyer-will-be-completed-sunday

 

Ohio State University announced Friday that the investigation into head football coach Urban Meyer’s response to domestic abuse allegations against former assistant coach Zach Smith will be completed Sunday, meeting the 14-day timetable the school set for itself when announcing details of the probe.

 

The investigators then will prepare a report, which will be delivered to the investigatory committee next week, Ohio State announced.

 

After the investigative report has been received, the university will call a board of trustees meeting next week.  President Michael V. Drake will confer with the board in executive session about the findings of the investigation.  The university must give public notice of the meeting at least 24 hours in advance, as required by Ohio law.

 

Drake will announce his decision about Meyer’s future after “appropriate time for consideration” and deliberations with the board, the university’s announcement said.

 

While trustees will hear the investigatory report, Ohio State has said that any final decision on Meyer will be made by Drake.  A decision would not be subject to a vote by trustees in public session.  Drake, in a radio interview on WOSU’s “All Sides with Ann Fisher” Thursday, did not speculate on possible outcomes of the investigation.

Ohio State says Urban Meyer investigation will end Sunday, with recommendations next week

 

Ohio State University's investigation into Urban Meyer's handling of allegations of domestic abuse against a former assistant coach will end Sunday, the school said.

 

Ohio State turned the investigation over to an independent committee, giving the six-member group two weeks to come up with recommendations for the future of the popular football coach.

 

Following comments this week by Ohio State President Michael Drake that the investigation "will be finished when it’s finished," the school clarified late Friday that it will end as planned by Sunday.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/08/18/ohio-state-says-urban-meyer-investigation-will-end.html

The Board of Trustees will meet 9 a.m. Wednesday - https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2018/08/95435/board-of-trustees-announces-meeting-to-discuss-findings-of-urban-meyer-investigation

Decision Day.  Presser expected this afternoon.  Meyer has been in the same building as the BoT since earlier this morning.  Read the tea leaves as you will.

Free Urban

Oh man, this has more suspense than having to wait an hour for Yngwie Malmsteen to come on stage after the opening act finishes

Oh man, this has more suspense than having to wait an hour for Yngwie Malmsteen to come on stage after the opening act finishes

 

 

...and the announcement was a bit of a letdown.  No high drama! 

No lightning fast sweep arpeggios either.

 

It's basically like those weekly radio interviews during the season when he talks for an hour but doesn't. say. anything.

ESPN seems disappointed thus far.  Watching the morning talk and reading a few articles on line, one by Heather Dinnich, feels like the punishment (and apology) didn't go far enough...

The main issue seems to be that he apologized to everyone except Courtney Smith, and in fact never even mentioned her in the presser. Urban Meyer played the victim, instead of apologizing to the real victim. This seems like a fair criticism to me.

Urban deleted all of his texts older than one year when McMurphy's report dropped.  Wow.

ESPN seems disappointed thus far.  Watching the morning talk and reading a few articles on line, one by Heather Dinnich, feels like the punishment (and apology) didn't go far enough...

 

They didn't get their Michael Vick Mk. VII

The main issue seems to be that he apologized to everyone except Courtney Smith, and in fact never even mentioned her in the presser. Urban Meyer played the victim, instead of apologizing to the real victim. This seems like a fair criticism to me.

 

Except and maybe think about it like this. Urban knew Courtney for over 15 years. He saw her as 100 different ways of crazy. Yes, she was a victim of a bad marriage to a bad individual, but to everyone around her, - OSU Athletic Depart, coaches, coaches wives, Powell Police, Her own mother, she had no credibility. The media who only knew her for a couple weeks and really does not really know her beyond trying to spin a narrative has made her into a victim above reproach. They are using her for a narrative.

 

If you knew someone like Courtney on a personal level like Urban would have and recognize her lack of credibility, would you really be sorry toward her? I would doubt it, which is why he acted the way he did and why I have no problem with it.

 

 

Crazy wives should get divorced, not beaten. Bruises don't create themselves, Urban Meyer SHOULD be sorry that she was a victim and he did nothing about it. Period. Maybe she was "crazy" because she lived in fear of her husband and because no one believed anything she said because they feared losing their jobs? Calling physical abuse a "bad marriage" is a huge cop out. Bad marriages end in divorce, not police reports.

The main issue seems to be that he apologized to everyone except Courtney Smith, and in fact never even mentioned her in the presser. Urban Meyer played the victim, instead of apologizing to the real victim. This seems like a fair criticism to me.

 

Except and maybe think about it like this. Urban knew Courtney for over 15 years. He saw her as 100 different ways of crazy. Yes, she was a victim of a bad marriage to a bad individual, but to everyone around her, - OSU Athletic Depart, coaches, coaches wives, Powell Police, Her own mother, she had no credibility. The media who only knew her for a couple weeks and really does not really know her beyond trying to spin a narrative has made her into a victim above reproach. They are using her for a narrative.

 

If you knew someone like Courtney on a personal level like Urban would have and recognize her lack of credibility, would you really be sorry toward her? I would doubt it, which is why he acted the way he did and why I have no problem with it.

 

 

 

I don't feel the Columbus media has been especially kind to her. I don't have cable, so I've only been able to see local media coverage while those from out of town only have exposure from the national media or their local TV reports. We do have Stadium channel on the rabbit ears but I don't really use it as a source of sports news since you don't know if what you are watching on there at any given time was made today, last week or last year.