“If [Urban Meyer] loses his job, it’s flat wrong. And this is the guy who fired me. It would be a crime.” Those were the final words said by former Ohio State wide receivers coach Zach Smith during the first segment of an interview that aired on Friday’s 6 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter. Smith, whose ex-wife Courtney Smith went public last month with accounts of domestic abuse dating back to 2009, sat down with ESPN’s Dan Murphy to give his side of the story, and ostensibly shed some light on just how much Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer knew about Smith’s past while keeping him employed on staff. Related The Undoing of Urban Meyer Meyer fired Zach Smith last month after Smith was charged with criminal trespassing and an Ohio judge granted a protective order that Courtney Smith had filed against her ex-husband. When that order entered the public sphere, so too did reports of a 2009 incident in which police were called to the Smiths’ Florida home after Courtney — then eight to 10 weeks pregnant — said Zach picked her up and threw her against a wall during an argument. A 2015 account also came to light in which Courtney said Zach shoved her against a wall and wrapped his hands around her neck, all while their then-3-year-old daughter clung to her leg. From 2012 to 2018 alone, Cleveland.com found nine police reports involving Zach and Courtney Smith and domestic disputes. SportsCenter was Smith’s second interview since his firing; the first had happened mere minutes earlier on Columbus radio station 105.7 The Zone. In both interviews, the questions primarily centered on how much Meyer knew about Smith’s past, when he knew it, and how he’d responded to what he knew. This is important because on Wednesday college football insider Brett McMurphy published a report that included text messages showing that Meyer’s wife, Shelley, long knew about the 2015 incident. The report intimated that Urban might have known about it, too. This information contradicted Meyer’s remarks at Big Ten media days on July 24, when he said that he’d been informed about that account only the night before. The investigation surrounding Meyer and the Ohio State program at large is ongoing, and at this point there are far more questions than answers. Meyer was placed on administrative leave last week as independent investigators sort through the details of what happened, and as Smith made his media rounds on Friday, Meyer released a statement that confused his narrative more than clarified it. If Meyer did indeed know about the 2015 incident and elevated “the issues to the proper channels,” why did he lie about that during his media days press conference? Why was Meyer willing to repeatedly stand by an assistant coach about whom he knew of at least two accounts of domestic violence? And what was Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith’s role in everything, given that Zach Smith said in his 105.7 interview that he “found out about the [2015] allegation because Gene Smith told me”? Moving beyond the particulars of who knew what and when, another question arose over the weekend: Why has much of the media coverage of this case felt not only misguided, but wrong? It’s important to note that stories involving domestic violence, sexual assault, and administrative failings related to those subjects are notoriously difficult to cover. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, as each instance is dictated by the details of that specific case. It’s also important to make clear that Zach Smith has not been convicted of domestic violence, nor is he under police investigation. But that doesn’t lessen the significance of Courtney Smith’s statements, and it doesn’t change the fact that giving Zach Smith a platform to defend himself, virtually unchecked, on prime-time radio and television was more than a little sickening. Take the promotion surrounding both interviews. While touting their one-on-ones, ESPN and 105.7 each threw around the word “exclusive” like it was a badge of honor; SportsCenter, whose interview with Zach Smith was divided into multiple segments across the broadcast, teased upcoming parts of the sit-down in the same way that The Bachelor might encourage viewers to stay tuned: Keep watching, because after the commercial break Zach Smith responds to Urban Meyer’s statement about being placed on administrative leave! It’s one thing for a sports media outlet to interview Smith; it’s another for it to plaster his face across all of its social media platforms and hype up the conversation like a free-agency special. Perhaps more egregious, Smith was allowed to present his account of the incidents in question largely unpressed. On SportsCenter, Smith said the bruises evident on Courtney Smith in the photos in McMurphy’s report were caused by his attempts to restrain Courtney during an argument. When Zach Smith was asked what he meant by that, he said, amid a long soliloquy, that “it’s very possible” to get bruising from being restrained, and that “you’d have to be there” to understand how that could happen. Little else was requested in the way of specifics. After the interviews aired, McMurphy shared a screenshot of a previously unpublished text-message exchange between Zach and Courtney Smith in which Zach acknowledged “picking [Courtney] up by the neck and strangling [her]” in 2015 and apologized. Neither outlet received a follow-up comment from Zach Smith. Zach Smith told @1057TheZone he never abused Courtney. Here is text message b/w Zach & Courtney when he admits & apologizes for strangling his wife on Punta Cana trip in March 2015 & again in April pic.twitter.com/GjcjWh6mFT — Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 3, 2018 Neither interview mentioned Courtney Smith with anywhere near the frequency with which Meyer was brought up, and Zach Smith offered the same platitudes in each one: that his and Courtney’s marriage was volatile, that their relationship was toxic and at times aggressive, but that no crime occurred on his part.<doc-sep>Zach Smith says Urban Meyer knew about a 2009 incident with his wife and he "let due process run its course." Watch the full interview on SportsCenter at 6 ET on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/fxwseY8M6t — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 3, 2018 Zach Smith said Meyer’s response was to look at him and say, “'Zach, if you hit her, you’re fired immediately.’ And I looked at him and I said, ‘Coach, if I hit her, I wouldn’t even be here. I know how you feel about that. If I hit her, I wouldn’t come to work. I would know, it’s over.’” When the interviewer replied, “And you never hit her?” to which Smith said, “No, I never hit her.” When Powell police ultimately decided not to press charges, Smith said he relayed that decision to Meyer as well. Asked if Meyer should have looked into the situation deeper, Smith replied, “He’s not a cop. He’s not a detective. He found out the facts he needed to find out.” Urban Meyer timeline: What led to coach being put on administrative leave by Ohio State https://t.co/BiwNmG2R1q pic.twitter.com/9OKxzrnIM5 — Dayton Daily News (@daytondailynews) August 2, 2018 Zach Smith also suggested there was nothing else Meyer or Gene Smith needed to do because the incident was already being investigated by police. “If the police didn’t know, it’s their job to contact the authorities, but the police knew. That’s who told them.” When presented with the statement Meyer made defending his handling of the entire situation, Zach Smith said he would be “heartbroken” if Meyer were fired as a result of the situation. “If that happens, it’s dead wrong,” Smith said. “I know exactly what he knew and exactly what he did. If he loses his job, it would be dead wrong. This is the guy who fired me. It would be a crime.” »RELATED: Clause added to Meyer’s contract could make firing him easier In both interviews, Zach Smith admitted there were many problems in his marriage. He estimated there were eight occasions he left when things were beginning to get violent. “I would just put my hands up to try to stop anything that was going on, to hold her or move her out of the way so that I could go through the doorway or whatever,” Smith said. Asked how that would create bruises, he replied, “I guess you’d have to be there. If someone is being aggressive with you and you’re trying to defend your actions with that person and you try to grab their arms to stop aggression and get through a doorway to get out of the situation then it’s very possible. I don’t know what else to tell you. “All I know is I never hit my wife. I never beat her. Nothing. Now, we had a toxic relationship and I’m at fault as much as she is because I did things I should not have done. I was not a good husband. I wasn’t good, great at it, but I never committed domestic violence.” Asked to explain a photo Courtney Smith shared with national college football reporter Brett McMurphy that showed her hand bloody from a cut she explained came from a tobacco can, Zach Smith said, “I don’t know if it was because of me. She was in a fit about I don’t know what. She grabbed a can of tobacco that I had. She went to pour it on me, and when I tried to stop her from pouring it on me, I went and closed the can and it sliced her hand. “I was actually asleep when she came to do this and kind of woke up and just grabbed the can of dip to try to not have it happen, and here we are.” He said he then helped her repair the wound. “I was terrified. I didn’t mean to do that,” he said. When ESPN’s Murphy asked if Smith felt like he had done anything wrong, he replied, “Absolutely I did something wrong every time. I pushed her buttons a lot. I knew how to get her going. Like I said, it was a toxic relationship. Both of us did several wrong things. All I’m trying to put out is there was never… domestic violence on my behalf. I did so many things wrong, and I caused a lot of those situations, but that is two separate discussions.” Not long after the interview aired on ESPN, McMurphy (the independent reporter who first broke the story) followed up with another report in which he shared a screenshot of a text conversation he indicated was between Zach and Courtney Smith. In that conversation, he appears to acknowledge having strangled her. Ohio State has opened an investigation into how Meyer handled the situation. There's been no indication how long it might last, but the Buckeyes started preparations for the 2018 season without Meyer on Friday morning. They are scheduled to practice again Saturday and Sunday before taking Monday off.<doc-sep>Zach Smith did several interviews on Friday, shortly after Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer released a statement, saying he was aware of the domestic violence allegations in 2015 and reported them like he was supposed to. Smith said in interviews on Friday that Meyer told him he would be fired “immediately” if he found out that he hit his wife, Courtney Smith. The now-fired Ohio State wide receivers coach claimed in his first public interview since the firing that he never committed domestic violence. “I’ve never committed domestic abuse against her,” Smith told 105.7 The Zone in Columbus. Smith added that their relationship was volatile. “I’ve been purposely quiet since this is all started, because I don’t believe this is the right venue to talk about it. I, by no means, want to come out and throw dirt on Courtney at all. All I can really say is we had a volatile relationship. It was toxic. And by the end of it, it just flat out needed to end.” Shortly after Smith’s interview, college football insider Brett McMurphy dropped this text message from Smith’s ex-wife, which seems to go against what he said. Zach Smith told @1057TheZone he never abused Courtney. Here is text message b/w Zach & Courtney when he admits & apologizes for strangling his wife on Punta Cana trip in March 2015 & again in April pic.twitter.com/GjcjWh6mFT — Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 3, 2018 Smith has responded to the claims in this message, speaking to ESPN college football reporter Dan Murphy. “Asked Zach Smith about this just now,” Murphy tweeted. “He said he does not recall any altercation between him and Courtney Smith in Punta Cana. He said he had not seen the published image of the text but did not believe it was credible.” Asked Zach Smith about this just now. He said he does not recall any altercation between him and Courtney Smith in Punta Cana. He said he had not seen the published image of the text but did not believe it was credible. https://t.co/re4cdsUpYO — Dan Murphy (@DanMurphyESPN) August 4, 2018 Smith and his ex-wife are set to appear in court in early September. Urban Meyer remains on paid administrative leave at Ohio State.<doc-sep>COLUMBUS, Ohio — Fired Ohio State assistant coach Zach Smith denied ever abusing his then-wife, allegations he said in a radio interview Friday that athletic director Gene Smith was aware of in the immediate aftermath of an alleged incident in 2015. Smith was fired last month after allegations of stalking, trespassing and harassment were made by Courtney Smith as part of a protective order she was granted. Courtney Smith alleged in interviews this week and in police and court records obtained by USA TODAY Sports that Zach Smith had abused her on multiple occasions. Those revelations led Ohio State to put head coach Urban Meyer on paid administrative leave this week as the school’s board of trustees conducts an investigation of how Meyer and others handled the allegations against Smith. "I've never committed domestic abuse against her," Smith said on WXZX-FM. MORE ON OHIO STATE SCANDAL After Smith spoke publicly for the first time since his firing, former ESPN reporter Brett McMurphy posted an apparent text exchange between Zach and Courtney Smith in which Zach Smith appears to acknowledge and apologize for two physical altercations in 2015. Zach Smith said that Gene Smith pulled him off the road during a recruiting trip after the allegations — which did not result in criminal charges — were brought to his attention in 2015. "Gene Smith said I have to be on the next plane back," Zach Smith said. Meyer put out a statement earlier Friday in which he said he misspoke at Big Ten Media Day last week when he said he had no knowledge of the 2015 accusations. "My intention was not to say anything inaccurate or misleading," Meyer said. "However, I was not adequately prepared to discuss these sensitive personnel issues with the media and I apologize for the way I handled those questions." Meyer added that he routed the allegations surrounding the 2015 incident "to the proper channels." Meyer did the same in 2009 when Smith, then a graduate assistant under him at the University of Florida, was arrested in Gainesville, Fla., on suspicion of domestic violence. Prosecutors didn’t pursue the two felony charges Smith faced. Smith said in an interview on ESPN that Meyer threatened to fire him both in 2009 and 2015 if he found out that he struck Courtney Smith. Smith said in the radio interview he was terminated because of the "media uproar." "It’s a move they had to make," Smith added. "I don’t think that I deserved it, but it wasn’t wrong." As for Meyer's future, Smith told ESPN he'd "be heartbroken" if Meyer was let go by Ohio State. "If it happens, it'd be dead wrong," Smith said. "If he loses his job, it's flat wrong. This is the guy who fired me. It would be a crime." Follow A.J. Perez on Twitter @byajperez. Contributing: Dan Wolken.<doc-sep>
In a bizarre, twisting and probably not particularly helpful Friday afternoon, both Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and former wide receivers coach Zach Smith broke their silence on the scandal that left Smith fired, Meyer on administrative leave and the Buckeyes’ program hanging in the balance. Some questions were answered. Many more were created. One critical one remains: Why in the world did Urban Meyer, OSU athletic director Gene Smith or anyone else with knowledge of the situation think it was a good and proper idea to keep Zach Smith employed and fully supported the past three years, even after Zach was accused in 2015 of domestic assault against his ex-wife Courtney? Start quickly with Meyer, who in a statement revealed he actually did know about Courtney’s 2015 allegation. He claims he, like always, had “followed proper reporting protocols and procedures.” This runs completely contrary to his statements last month at Big Ten media day when Meyer claimed he had no knowledge of the 2015 allegation and had never had a conversation about it. He is now intimating otherwise. Meyer said he “failed” to accurately answer questions from the media about the subject because he wasn’t prepared and was “caught off-guard.” Meyer had just, days prior, fired Zach Smith after the assistant violated a separate protective order placed on him by Courtney. As such, it’s confusing why Meyer wouldn’t be prepared or offer firmer clarification on the hot-button subject, let alone why he didn’t get it right in any of the nine separate questions on the topic he was asked during multiple sessions with the media. Urban Meyer was place on paid administrative leave by Ohio State on Wednesday afternoon. (Getty) Still, if it’s true Meyer reported what he needed to report, then it becomes more difficult for Ohio State to fire him for cause. The Joe Paterno model of doing what he was supposed to do could save him some $40 million in owed money if the school wants to move on anyway. If he got out of the way and let Gene Smith or others at the university handle it, as he’s required, then at least he wasn’t covering it up. Story continues That doesn’t change this incredibly troubling dynamic. Smith, 33, was twice accused by Courtney and once arrested (in 2009) of domestic abuse, and Meyer still had no problem keeping him on the staff. This despite the existence of photos showing injuries and bruises. Zach Smith, in an interview with 105.7 The Zone in Columbus, didn’t deny he was part of a troubled marriage or that things didn’t get physical or that those bruises could have been inflicted by him. He just claimed he never “broke the law.” “We had a volatile relationship, it was toxic,” Smith said. “There was a lot of aggressive situations … I’ve never committed domestic abuse against her. Now, there were times things got out of hand and I had to defensively restrain her … I never hit her.” What about the 2009 felony charge of abusing that Courtney later dropped? “I got arrested in 2009, mainly because the situation was, kind of, an argument gone bad,” Zach Smith told the radio station. “I got arrested simply because it was 3 in the morning. [The police said], ‘We have to bring you in because we can’t leave you here’ … they took me in and they arrested me and the charges got dropped after the investigation.” The bruises in the photos Courtney Smith shared earlier this week? “I am not discounting they are [from me], I don’t know when they are from, I don’t know where they are from,” Zach said. “There were several times that things got out of hand between us and I can’t say [I may have been] restraining her to get out of the house. I’m not saying she didn’t get a bruise or a mark.” On a question about whether he ever stalked her or threatened her via text message. “I’ve made mistakes,” Zach Smith said. “I was still in love with her. … I don’t believe I ever threatened her. … No one did anything illegal, this should have stayed behind closed doors because now my kids have to deal with it.” Perhaps only Zach and Courtney Smith know for sure what happened between the two of them. The rest of us are in no position to claim full knowledge.