Resolution reached in Zach Smith-Courtney Smith saga

A legal resolution to a lengthy dispute between former Ohio State Buckeyes football assistant Zach Smith and his ex-wife, Courtney Smith, has been reached. The controversy, which engulfed the Ohio State football program and led to suspensions for Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer and athletic director Gene Smith, has seemingly come to an end.

Zach Smith released a statement on his Twitter account Tuesday saying, “Charges dropped. Cases dismissed. Faith, patience & the truth will always prevail.” Brett McMurphy, who was heavily involved in reporting previous domestic violence accusations (no charges were filed) made against Zach Smith by his ex-wife in 2009 when he worked under Meyer with the Florida Gators, wrote on Twitter, “Courtney Smith awarded 3-year domestic violence protection order today in Delaware County, Ohio, against her ex-husband Zach Smith, a former Ohio State assistant. In agreement to reduce his criminal trespassing charge in May, Zach also pled guilty to disorderly conduct.”

Zach Smith denied McMurphy’s characterization of the legal resolution, responding with a series of follow-up tweets: “She wasn’t awarded anything. I REQUESTED the Mutual Order for LIFE. Ask my attorney. They told me to just do a 3-year. AND I pled “guilty” to a minor misdemeanor to avoid the cost of a trial because they wanted to end this. You’re an absolute bafoon (sic) & give reporters a bad name.

“You want to do a sit down? My GOD I would love to talk to you face to face. Let’s be a big boy reported BRETT!! You’re DYING to become a real reporter… come be one! But you won’t respond. Because you’re not a real reporter that investigates a story.”

McMurphy then posted a picture of the protection order granted to Courtney Smith.

Courtney Smith’s Domestic Violence Protection Order awarded today against ex-husband Zach Smith, the respondent, thru Oct. 10, 2021 pic.twitter.com/H6H5ZHEVQB

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 23, 2018

Smith promptly responded to McMurphy’s tweet, telling him to post the entire document.

“Tweet the whole document. And get the memorandum from Delaware County,” Smith tweeted. “Everyone is WAITING for you to report an accurate story!! #WhereIsTheRest”

Smith’s original statement about the news can be seen in the tweet below.

Charges dropped. Cases dismissed. Faith, patience & the truth will always prevail. pic.twitter.com/TNxkGGh4DR

— Zach Smith (@CoachZachSmith) October 23, 2018

As it relates to the current Ohio State football team, the saga involving Zach and Courtney Smith began after the former wide receivers coach was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing following a dispute related to dropping off the couple’s son at Courtney Smith’s home. After that incident, McMurphy unearthed a previously unreported domestic violence dispute between the Smiths during Zach Smith’s tenure on the Florida staff in 2009. Then on July 23, Ohio State fired Zach Smith.

Meyer appeared at Big Ten Media Days a day later, and he discussed the firing. The night before, McMurphy had reported on two additional disputes which police investigated in 2015. However, the coach came under fire when he said there was “nothing,” and “I don’t know who creates a story like that.” McMurphy later released a report with text messages between Courtney Smith and Meyer’s wife, Shelley. The texts, which Meyer maintains he never saw, included multiple discussions about alleged domestic violence Courtney Smith accused her ex-husband of committing against her.

Ultimately, Meyer was placed on administrative leave on Aug. 1. The university then hired independent investigators to look into how Meyer and the rest of the staff handled their reporting obligations after they learned of the 2015 accusations against Smith. After nearly three weeks, the investigation concluded with a 23-page report released to the public. Although the investigation determined that Meyer properly reported the 2015 accusations against Smith, the university decided to suspend Meyer from coaching on game days for the first three weeks of the 2018 season, citing failings to properly monitor Zach Smith, who had various other disciplinary issues unrelated to domestic violence, during his tenure.

The Buckeyes went 3-0 under acting coach Ryan Day to start the season, and Meyer coached his first game of the year against Tulane on Sept. 22. No. 11 Ohio State currently holds a 7-1 record after losing its first game of the season to Purdue on Saturday. The Buckeyes are on a bye week, and they will return to action at home versus Nebraska on Nov. 3.