Meyer won national championships with Florida in 2006 and '08, but his teams also had more than two dozen players get into trouble with the law. Meyer is one of the most accomplished coaches in college football history, with three national championships and a 177-31 record in 16 seasons at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State, the team he grew up rooting for in Northeast Ohio. The Smiths separated in June 2015 and divorced in 2016. The charge was dropped because of insufficient evidence. In 2009, Zach Smith was accused of aggravated battery on his pregnant wife while he was working a graduate assistant for Meyer at Florida. Meyer has about $38 million left on his contract. The deal through 2022 increased Meyer's salary to $7.6 million in 2018, with annual 6 percent raises. Violating that policy allows Meyer to be fired with cause, according to provisions placed in his contract when it was extended in April by two years. Ohio State's Title IX sexual misconduct policy includes reporting allegations of domestic violence made against university employees. Meyer is heading into his seventh season at Ohio State, where he is 73-8 with a national title in 2014 and two Big Ten Conference championships. "I gave Zach Smith the benefit of the doubt," Meyer said. Meyer said his loyalty to Bruce "likely impacted" how he treated Zach Smith over the years. He has a charge of criminal trespass pending, and the Smiths are due in court next month for a hearing on a restraining order Courtney Smith was granted July 20. Zach Smith - the grandson of late Ohio State coach and Meyer mentor Earle Bruce - has never been criminally charged or convicted of abuse. "Zach Smith married a woman he should not have married," Koffel said. Zach Smith's attorney Brad Koffel said in a statement to USA Today that Meyer, Ohio State and Gene Smith were "collateral damage" for Courtney Smith's desire to seek revenge her ex-husband. But he also acknowledged lying to reporters a week earlier when he said he hadn't heard of the incident until shortly before he fired Zach Smith. Meyer insisted as the investigation began that he followed proper protocols after learning of the 2015 accusations. Meyer will miss Ohio State's first three games against Oregon State, Rutgers and No. When asked if he had a message for Courtney Smith, Meyer said: "I have a message for everyone involved in this: I'm sorry were' in this situation." Meyer said he was not aware of the text messages Courtney Smith sent to his wife. "I should have been aware of it," Meyer said. Investigators found that Meyer and the athletic director failed to report the claims against the coach and seemed to misunderstand their obligation to tell compliance officials about alleged misconduct.īoth the athletic director and Meyer apologized and said they accepted the punishments, though Meyer said repeatedly that he did not fully know what was happening with the Smiths. The review found neither Meyer nor Gene Smith condoned or covered up the alleged actions by the wide receivers coach. Ohio State's investigation concluded Meyer and the athletic director mismanaged Zach Smith's misconduct and kept him even though he was not an appropriate role model for OSU student-athletes.
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