Urban Meyer put on administrative leave, investigation opened

Until then, the Buckeyes will be moving ahead without Urban Meyer. Speaking with McMurphy, Courtney said, “All the [coaches] wives knew”.

“I was never told about anything”, Meyer said about the 2015 incidents. Smith was sacked as Ohio State’s wide receivers coach on Monday, July 23, after the allegations of domestic abuse surfaced.

When it turned into six hours of silence from Ohio State since Brett McMurphy broke the news Wednesday morning, that’s when it really started to hit me that there was a legitimate chance Meyer would be fired later in the day.

Whittingham, a Utah assistant from 1994-2004, served as co-head coach with Meyer during the team’s Fiesta Bowl win and took over as the Utes’ head coach after Meyer left for Florida.

This article has been updated with a statement from Ohio State University. The Buckeyes are only one month away from the start of the 2018 season, opening the year against Oregon State on September 1.

“[Athletic director Gene Smith] and I agree that being on leave during this inquiry will facilitate its completion”, Meyer said in a written statement.

The announcement comes two days before the football team is set to hold its first day of fall training camp on Friday. “So Shelley and I actually both got involved with the relationship with that family, and provided counseling, and wanted to help them moving forward”.

Urban Meyer has some explaining to do.

How can Meyer continue to be employed by a state institution of higher learning during these revolutionary #MeToo times when women nationwide are standing up and bringing down powerful men who are perpetuating or ignoring sexual misconduct in the workplace? The charge was dropped because of insufficient evidence. Smith told Shelley it was fine to tell Urban Meyer and that she should. Meyer worked for Bruce, who also coached the now-defunct University of Tampa program in 1972, and considers him a mentor.

Two weeks after the October 25, 2015 incident, a November 5, 2015 text exchange between Lindsey Voltolini and Courtney shows Meyer talked to Zach Smith about the incident. No charges were filed in that incident.

When he fired Smith, Meyer said at Big Ten Media Days he was not aware of the 2015 incidents. He was also asked about the 2015 incident alleged by Courtney Smith. I was never told about anything and nothing ever came to light.

“I don’t know who creates a story like that”, Meyer added about the 2015 allegations.

“I hadn’t heard that”. The couple divorced in 2016. He resigned twice at Florida, citing health reasons.

We’ll now learn a great deal more about Ohio State, long after they stood on moral principle in dismissing Jim Tressel as football coach for the transgression of allowing players to trade memorabilia for tattoos.

There are so many questions now to answer – and this investigation will determine the fate of Meyer’s coaching career in Columbus and his legacy in the sport.