Ohio State’s Meyer punished for overlooking bad behavior

Ohio State University on Wednesday night suspended football coach Urban Meyer for three games for mishandling the professional and behavioral problems of an assistant coach. The university fired wide receivers coach Zach Smith on July 23 after reports surfaced that an Ohio court granted his ex-wife a domestic violence protective order. An investigation by Ohio State revealed “a pattern of troubling behavior by Zach Smith: promiscuous and embarrassing sexual behavior, drug abuse, truancy, dishonesty, financial irresponsibility, a possible NCAA violation, and a lengthy police investigation into allegations of criminal domestic violence and cybercrimes,” the university said Wednesday.

Meyer, one of college football’s most successful coaches ever, apologized Wednesday and acknowledged he knew about some of Smith’s problems but gave him the benefit of the doubt. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, no relation to Zach Smith, was suspended without pay from Aug. 31 through Sept. 16. Through an attorney, Zach Smith said he had been the victim of a revenge plot by his ex-wife.