Lawyer: OSU Has Never Contacted Courtney Smith to Investigate Allegations
Courtney Smith mentioned this in the initial reporting, but we now have more detailed comments from her lawyer, Julia Leveridge, to Brett McMurphy (emphasis added):
Courtney Smith is currently involved in two legal matters, criminal trespass involving her ex-husband Zach Smith, and a domestic violence civil protection order she has obtained to ensure her ongoing safety. Ms. Smith will have no further comments until these matters have been resolved. Her focus remains on caring for her two small children and continuing her nursing studies.
As her attorney, I can tell you that Ms. Smith is cautiously optimistic that The Ohio State University’s investigative committee will determine if proper reporting protocol was followed upon learning of the ongoing, abuse allegations against Zach Smith. We believe the University must prioritize the safety and well-being of others above all else. While The Ohio State University has never contacted Ms. Smith to discuss these allegations, she will fully cooperate with the university’s current investigation.
What's striking about this is that this statement was made yesterday. That is to say, even with an investigation ongoing, OSU hasn't yet contacted Courtney Smith to get her side of the story, though they may do so within the next week.
August 7th, 2018 at 11:35 AM ^
It is definitely complicated when an employer, university, or sports team has to do an independent investigation that doesn't align with the legal system. But it happens all the time and is their duty to complete. Osuna got suspended 75 games and Elliot lost most of a season when the legal system hadn't caught up.
Whether they had to talk to Courtney Smith or not, it didn't take the media long to find out there were NINE reports filed from 2012-2018. They can quietly not-renew his contract at some point just to avoid having to deal with what was clearly a problem situation. Urban could pat him on the back, write a nice referral, and get him a job somewhere else - preferably far away from his ex-wife.
Instead, it looks like they did nothing. If Urban did report it in the past, then no meaningful action seems to have taken. I think the actual outcome is that they either completely ignored it and didn't do anything all the way up to another "please don't file charges" scenario like at Florida.
All that being said, I'm still expecting a short suspension of Meyer and some sort of hand slap to Smith.
August 7th, 2018 at 12:44 PM ^
You're making a good case - for making Meyer the fall guy.
OSU would have investigated incidents if Meyer had reported them. They would also have handled Smith differently in 2015 if Meyer had informed them of his history in Florida. Despite of all the incidents Meyer knew about, he never once suspended Smith. Doing so could have brought his domestic violence background to their attention.
I'm not saying this is all true. But it's very easy to see how blaming Meyer might let the administration largely off the hook. Probably not Gene Smith though.
Misplaced commas, drive me crazy.
Di,tto
I think, and, you can correct me if I'm wrong that, perhaps you are being a little too, sensitive?
I hate to say it. Unless they have an investigation consisting of ALL outside the program board members, this will be a one sided affair. Meyer will get at the most a year suspension and nothing more. I feel like interviewing her and getting her side of the story would be the first priority of OSU. Its seems they are afraid of more damning evidence to come out of this.
Alternative take.
Remember what Penn State went through after relying on a completely outside investigation? That's been the basis for many of the ongoing complaints from their fanbase, alumni, etc. They will never accept it as fair. Their trustees are still fighting it. https://www.centredaily.com/news/local/article213855004.html
If you want to make the investigation more credible to the OSU fanbase, you do just what they did. That's something you think about if you're going to fire Meyer.
Two of the outsiders are former prosecutors who should know how to conduct an investigation. You don't put them on the committee if you are trying to keep evidence from coming out. I don't believe it's the committee's job to decide on a punishment. That's on the OSU administration.
Ok, then have two separate investigations. One by OSU, the other by the NCAA. They can then compile any information that either clears Meyers name or finds him without a reasonable doubt guilty. I just feel members of the university could be persuaded by outside entities, like boasters. With that said, I see your point.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:13 AM ^
Two investigations could lead to a big mess. If they come to opposite conclusions, everyone will be taking sides. If the NCAA thinks this is something they should investigate, then they will. I don't think that's likely.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:34 AM ^
Exactly, this is not a NCAA issue. Not even criminal anymore, just civil and an issue with Title IX reporting protocol.
August 7th, 2018 at 11:25 AM ^
Uh, there's the criminal trespassing and notice of protection still working through the courts for the Smith's. So it is still possibly a criminal matter.
I read some of that article. I can't believe the BOT wants to judge the truthfulness of the Freeh report. What makes them more competent in an investigation than investigators?
Yes, when I saw that former prosecutors are on the committee, that's what gave me some shred of confidence that it won't just be a whitewash.
Also, MSU had a supposedly "outside" investigation that was quite transparently designed to shield Dantonio. As long as it's OSU initiating the investigation, ultimately some insider (or team of insiders) will be the ones choosing the investigator and giving the marching orders. So unless you have some outside entity (like a DOJ/Title IX official or the NCAA) bringing the investigation, it seems to me that the integrity and interests of the people on the committee are going to be more important than whether they are "insiders" or "outsiders."
August 7th, 2018 at 10:06 AM ^
I agree with Mr. Miggle.
This committee looks reasonably well designed to impartially review whatever evidence there is in this specific situation.
Where they likely fall off the map is in deciding to not chase any of the verifiable other leads that an actual prosecutor would be all over, essentially looking at his conduct in general and not just this one instance.
If they do that, I'll be beyond impressed.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:18 AM ^
Good point.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:29 AM ^
I see your point, but if you want true outsiders, why not hire people from out of state? As long as they have roots in Ohio, they likely OSU homers.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:47 AM ^
FYI one of the guys I follow on twitter is Bruce Hooley. Bruce used to be a sports talk guy up here in Cleveland and moved down to Columbus a few years ago and does a show with Chris Spielman which, as you can imagine, is about 95% OSU and 5% everything else.
Bruce tweeted almost immediately once the committee was formed that it was his opinion that the people selected to investigate were chosen with the specific purpose of retaining Meyer and that he would be shocked if they came back with anything but an endorsement for him to stay.
And, FWIW, based on his mentions I would guess the "rally" yesterday represented the thinking of the vast majority of the OSU faithful on the matter despite people trying to paint them as the lunatic fringe.
They won't contact her - they might find out more info if they did that
August 7th, 2018 at 10:33 AM ^
Really fucks up the plausible deniability
If that is true, then it may be Gene Smith who should be feeling a hot seat.
Been wondering who OSU is more afraid of - Courtney or Urbz. She is undoubtedly preparing a big civil suit against them asshe informed OSU employees of the abuse (Mrs. Urbz) and school representatives pressured her to not file charges. They exerted power and implied threats of "you'll have no income if Zach goes to jail and gets fired. Think of your kids."
Or is Urbz the bigger threat if they fire him for cause and he contests it? It would be a damn shame if both of them sued.
I agree that threats of lawsuits and financial harm to OSU is a big priority for OSU. Basically OSU is trying to figure out three things:
1. Financial risk of lawsuits from Meyer and/or Courtney Smith
2. Financial and legal risk of potential Title IX violations
3. Financial and reputational risk, if any, for OSU having tolerated domestic abuse by one of its most highly-paid employees
Whether or not they keep Meyer will depend on their evaluation of these issues. The actual truth of the matter will be of much less importance.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:08 AM ^
1. Totally agree.
2. Totally agree
3. Here I dont think they give two shits how they are perceived as long as they are winning football games. Their only worry, IMO, is what else is McMurphy sitting on that he hasnt released and if the reinstate Meyer and he releases it, how bad will it be?
August 7th, 2018 at 10:44 AM ^
I think the volume of FOIA requests over years and a pack of random reporters running around Ohio that might turn up "something" is the long term problem for tOSU here.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
#3 is almost best case scenario to me. Those mouth-breathers keep him and then McMurphy starts dropping bombs throughout the season - totally exposing Meyer AND OSU for the low lifes they are. The BOT has to be really worried about that scenario. That said, 3 games suspension for the enabler.
August 7th, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^
McMurphy already seems to be anticipating moves. People forget that Tressel started out with a two game suspension. Then he asked for a five game suspension to match his players which was a joke. Then more shit came out and they knew the slow bleed was on.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
I think the largest financial risk is definitely from Meyer, at least in terms of lawsuits. If they fire him without cause they are on the hook for a $38 million buyout, and $38 million seems like way more than Smith could realistically recover in a lawsuit even if she could establish some kind of liability (which seems very questionable to me, but obviously we don't have all the facts). I don't know if the reputational harm could approach or exceed that in terms of foregone donations, but it at least seems possible if, say, OSU has a Stephen Ross type alum who decides not to write a check for a new business school or something like that.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^
Ah...Looks like their biggest booster is Les Wexler, CEO of Victoria secrets..... Big difference from S.Ross.
Victoria's Secret does have a big bustier... amiright?
August 7th, 2018 at 10:32 AM ^
Seems like they're getting sued either way. But if Meyer is fired without cause, his lawsuit is probably worth more if he wins. I wonder if that makes them more likely to retain him and suffer the $2 million lawsuit from Courtney over the $30 million one from Meyer.
There are a few things here: one,It suggests that Meyer may have never reported it. Two, it suggests that, if he did report, the university did not investigate. Three, if the university did investigate, they did not do a very good job.
However, there is the possibility that Meyer reported it And that the university went off of police reports. It is possible that they did not need to contact her.
There is also the possibility that none of this matters. With that ruling in Colorado that title nine does not apply to incidents that involve those not associated with the University then it may not matter. While I do believe that title IX does cover this specific issue, it is far from 100% settled whether that is correct.
If OSU reinstates Urban and they don't produce a paper trail that shows that he reported it, they have some 'splainin to do.
Even if OSU DOES have a paper trail and they reinstate Urban, they have to explain why they kept a domestic abuser with a known history of issues on staff for so long.
There is no way out of this that looks particularly great for them.
Even if they reinstate Meyer, the backlash from media pundits, other fan bases and well, everyone outside of that cesspool are going to be relentless. I hope OSU and Meyer are prepared for the scrutiny that will overshadow any accomplishment their football program has for the duration of his tenure.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:06 AM ^
Even if they reinstate Meyer, the backlash from media pundits, other fan bases and well, everyone outside of that cesspool are going to be relentless.
Totally agree. If they reinstate him the amount of crap they are going to take for the two days the media is interested in the story before they get bored and move to something else will be quite unpleasant.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:10 AM ^
And I think this is exactly what they're banking on.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:50 AM ^
IDK. This modern era is an interesting time to be alive. Anyone in the faculty or student life at a major university would tell you this sort of thing is just not tolerated by students (even at tOSU, I would expect) in the modern era.
I would think this would cause, at minimum, student action and faculty action that is media worthy. Be nice to see that split occur at tOSU, tbh.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
That would be nice but I dont think so. I live and work in Ohio so most of my friends/co-workers are OSU fans or alumni. All want Meyer retained.
I follow a bunch of sportswriters from Cleveland and Columbus on Twitter. And while many of them are repulsed by what's happening at OSU i can tell you that 99% of their mentions want Meyer retained and are angry that anybody thinks otherwise.
The group that rallied yesterday in Columbus is NOT, IMO the "lunatic fringe" but rather a fairly representative section of how the vast majority of people here think.
August 7th, 2018 at 11:41 AM ^
Urban only fired him because it became public. Urban got caught.
I would love to see Urban gone. That would set an example and also show that coaches aren't exempt from bad/poor behavior. The athletes are always guilty until proven innocent, the same should be the case here.
I also see the situation where nothing happens and OSU brushes this under the rug. Unfortunately, all it takes for people to forget is for OSU to win games...
August 7th, 2018 at 10:01 AM ^
Michigan fired a guy who had the potential to be their best coach since Yost for being drunk at a restauraunt. OSU hired and will keep a guy who drove one program into the ground by filling it up with thugs and felons and has harbored a wife beater and lying about it. It seems the worst thing OSU could have done was fire Smith when they did. When they did that they basically said they knew he was a POS and never should have been hired and sheltered in the first place. Now they're open to lawsuits by the POS for being fired inappropriately, his ex for her being pressured into not pressing charges, and Urban if they actually do the right thing and get rid of him.
And the other awesome thing is they have a guy who probably helped shelter a child rapist for years on staff in addition to a guy who was fired with cause for abusing his players at yet another school.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^
Wasn't Larry Johnson on staff at penn state during that also?
August 7th, 2018 at 10:30 AM ^
That's the guy. He worked with Sandusky every day for years.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^
Let's not go overboard, you just said firing Smith was worse than keeping him.
I believe I understand your intent, that strategically it was the worst move. However its always the best strategy to start doing the right thing, especially if we are talking about public institutions.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:32 AM ^
Legally, for the risk of getting sued, it was the wrong thing to do. The optics on the way he was fired are terrible. It's admitting they never should have hired/extended him in the first place if they thought he did anything wrong.
It was the right thing to do morally.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
I dare say at this point the most likely outcome is somewhere in the middle between your two possibilities.
Look for a public statement from the group, board, president or just AD about new policies, change, better auditing/reporting, zero tolerance, and a statement that the university is conducting a full review (to be concluded but not reported on at some point in the future when the media has moved on).
As much as I hate to say it, I think if the accused (rightfully so btw) can weather the first week or two of the media storm of events like this, it's likely no one will seek Urban's firing after the investigation.
Unless Zach's ex wife or McMurphy are intent on bringing Meyer and the AD down, it will fade away which is what everyone from OSU wants it to do.
The saddest thing of all of this is I haven't heard a single person associated with OSU sympathize or comment on how disgraceful the allegations are and if they're true, seem satisfied with the lack of action taking place from the coaching staff.
Zach Smith has already been removed, so the center of the problem from OSU's point of view is no longer around and nobody with that university will speak to him anymore. I imagine the investigation team will slap Meyer on the wrist, ask him to implement some type of abuse or assault communication protocol within the team and coaching staff and tell them to never speak of it again so they don't put their foot in their mouth. Sad nobody has offered condolences or sympathized with Zach's ex-wife at all. It's the old "We need to do better next time, so let's forget what happened this time" routine.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:01 AM ^
Look, I'm a homer as much as you or anyone on here, but to say "The saddest thing of all of this is I haven't heard a single person associated with OSU sympathize or comment on how disgraceful the allegations are..." is just some kind of biased sampling effect. Obviously there are OSU people who find this thing horrible and, if allegations prove true, want Meyer gone. If you head down to 11w you'll find some, no doubt. But if you head down there looking for those who will defend their coach to the end, you'll find those too, and probably miss the more levelheaded voices. Our brains have a hard time turning samples into accurate polling data, I think.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^
I live in Columbus and haven't heard anyone saying they think there should be any discipline for anyone in this situation other than Smith and he already got fired. The first thing everyone I've talked to who is willing to admit any knowledge is to attack Harbaugh specifically and everyone else in any position of power as being evil people as well so what does it matter. Urban's just a great guy who got caught in a bad situation. I mean it's not like he even really did anything wrong. Right? I mean he didn't do anything wrong at Florida. It's not like he even knew who Aaron Hernandez was.
August 7th, 2018 at 10:16 AM ^
Shouldn't Bill Belichick and Tom Brady get more blame for Hernandez? You know, after all Belichick coached him and Brady threw him passes during the time Hernandez murdered his victims! They had to know that he'd commit murder...You see I can sound just as ridiculous as you and others' who blame Urban for Hernandez.