Ohio State should fire head football Coach Urban Meyer immediately.
If you saw the grotesque pictures of abuse suffered by Courtney Smith that she claims happened at the hands of Zach Smith, her then-husband and one of Meyer's assistant coaches, you shouldn't be able to accept or stomach any other conclusion than Meyer's dismissal.
If you read the texts of desperation between Courtney Smith and Meyer's wife, Shelley, about Smith's ongoing abuse and the struggle to protect herself, all while Zach Smith was still coaching and influencing young men at Ohio State, there shouldn't be a doubt that Meyer's career in college football needs to come to a swift end.
Former ESPN reporter Brett McMurphy broke the story Wednesday that meticulously lays out all the information anyone should need -- most notably this statement from Courtney Smith: "Shelley said she was going to have to tell Urban. I said: 'That's fine, you should tell Urban.' I know Shelley did everything she could."
In an interview published Wednesday on Stadium, Courtney Smith went further.
"I do believe (Urban Meyer) knew," she told the multiplatform sports network, "and instead he chose to help the abuser and enable the abuser and believe whatever story Zach was telling everybody."
Zach Smith isn't talking about the accusations. His attorney, Brad Koffel, said Wednesday that Smith will talk "after he and his ex-wife are sworn to testify."
"Once he gets his chance to tell his side of the events," Koffel continued, "don't be surprised when it is corroborated by every police who ever responded to Ms. Smith's calls."
Right. Koffel's statement seems like a spurious claim by a person paid to protect his client. We'll see if Zach Smith ever talks.
For now, Urban Meyer's position is indefensible. He was either complicit in Courtney Smith's alleged abuse by ignoring information about it at least as far back as 2015. Or he's an outright liar if he pretends his wife, whom he described last month at Big Ten media days as "my best friend and soul mate," never told him about Courtney Smith's abuse.
Ohio State placed Meyer on paid administrative leave while it investigates Courtney Smith's claims. My guess is the school will fire Meyer and that it will come down to negotiating the terms of a contractual separation.
At this point, Meyer probably has plausible deniability, which may be the reason he will never admit to knowing anything, other than offer a trite excuse like saying "we all should have done a better job being aware of what was happening and helping Courtney."
My heart goes out to Courtney Smith, not only for the abuse she endured but for her bravery in coming forward. But the problem is much, much bigger than one person's plight. What really worries me is the more widespread damage Zach Smith may have done as a person who influences young men.
Every time you read about an athlete abusing his wife or girlfriend, you have to wonder where he learned that behavior. Do you think that behavior comes out of nowhere? That it isn't taught either outright or implicitly?
"We can't have someone like this coaching young men," Courtney Smith told Stadium of her ex-husband. "He's supposed to be a mentor for young men."
My greatest worry about this situation is that it was a failure that could have happened at any other big-time college sports program.
I hope Meyer's firing will send a strong message to all coaches and universities -- and the young athletes they influence -- that no one is too big or too important to ignore signs of abuse and that there must be more diligence on the part of universities to educate their own coaches, no matter how much money they make for the school.
Sports on 08/03/2018