Urban Meyer put on leave, likely done at Ohio State

Article by Antwon "Smitty" Smith

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has been put on administrative leave by the university, following accusations that Meyer knew about domestic violence issues in 2015 of former assistant Zach Smith.

Smith's ex-wife, Courtney Smith said in an interview:

"All the [coaches'] wives knew," Courtney Smith told college football reporter Brett McMurphy in a story posted on his Facebook page. "They all did. Every single one."

Smith told Stadium that she believes that Meyer also knew at the time.

"I do believe he knew and instead he chose to help the abuser and enable the abuser and believe whatever story Zach was telling everybody," Smith said.

If this is true,  Meyer will likely be fired in the coming days after the investigation is done. Zach Smith was fired by the university after it learned of domestic violence reports that date back to 2009 and 2015. Meyer said in an interview that he had no previous knowledge of Smith's abuse of his wife, yet Smith's ex-wife begs to differ. 

This would be Ohio State's 2nd firing in the last 7 years as they let go of Jim Tressell in 2011, after he lied about having no knowledge of violations being committed by his players. Tressell's players were found to be trading memorabilia for tattoos which is a direct violation of NCAA rules. 

Domestic violence falls under Title IX law which states that "A college or university that receives federal funds may be held legally responsible when it knows about and ignores sexual harassment or assault in its programs or activities."

College Football analyst Danny Kanell tweeted: 

The Ohio State program will likely be put on probation and could lose scholarships if the NCAA puts down tough sanctions. It would be the second program that Meyer will leave in distress as he left Florida in 2010, citing health issues. The Gators still haven't recovered as they are on their second coach. 

If coach Smith is "likely to take everybody down with him" then it could damage the Buckeyes program, which is why Urban Meyer is likely done as coach at the university. 

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