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In August, Ohio State University dominated the news, but for all the wrong reasons: it revolved entirely around Zach Smith’s firing and Urban Meyer´s suspension
This suspension resulted from an investigation into Urban Meyer´s knowledge of two domestic violence cases in 2009 and 2015 that involved the OSU wide receiver coach, Smith, and his now ex-wife Courtney.
On August 22nd, Urban Meyer was put on a three-game suspension after he failed to properly take action against Smith and was provided incorrect information about Smit at Big Ten media day, according to the Ohio State President, Michael Drake. With the suspension, Meyer will be missing the Oregon State game on September 1st, the Rutgers game on September 8th, and the TCU game on September 15th. He will be replaced by Ryan Day, who was previously the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for the Buckeyes.
It all started in 2009 when Gainesville police arrested Zach Smith on suspicions of aggravated battery against his pregnant wife after an early morning argument that resulted in Smith grabbing his wife by the neck and pushing her against the wall. He was never charged with a crime because Courtney dropped the charges.
Again in 2015, Powell police were called and visited by Courtney following another incident involving her ex-husband. No charges were filed in this case either, but after several more incidents, she decided to sued for a divorce. After these events came to light, Smith was fired by Urban Meyer.
The questioning into Urban Meyer’s knowledge of these two situations started on Big Ten Media day, which took place directly after Smith was fired. When he was being questioned on his knowledge at the event, he denied knowing anything had happened in 2015 and only learned about the domestic violence cases the day Zach Smith was fired, at least that is what he claimed.
These claims were debunked only a few days later by Courtney in an interview with Stadium. She believed he knew because she had texted Shelly Meyer about the abuse and even sent pictures of bruises. These claims by Courtney Smith were enough evidence for Ohio State University to launch an investigation into Urban Meyer and enough for him to admit he knew of the abuse but told the school.
During the investigation, many things came out to make the once beloved OSU football coach lose the trust of the fans. For example, one thing was an admission by Urban Meyer that revealed that he went easy on Zach Smith because he was the grandson of Urban Meyer's idol, Earle Bruce.
Now the hypothetical fire at Ohio State is out, everything is started to go back to a new normal, but the burn marks will never go away, no one will ever forget what happened in August 2018 and how it changed OSU football forever.