Brutus Buckeye Weeps Today

Well, in fairness I guess Brutus Buckeye, the beloved Ohio State University athletics mascot, may not be weeping just yet. But surely he is holding his breath along with many in the extended Ohio State family, waiting to find out the fate of iconic football coach Urban Meyer.

It appears that Meyer, now on paid administrative leave instead of patrolling the pigskin sidelines, may have stepped in some career-ending dog-doo related to domestic abuse allegations involving one of his former assistant coaches.

Here’s from CNN:

Courtney Smith, ex-wife of former Ohio State wide receivers coach Zach Smith, spoke to Stadium sports network, outlining accusations that Zach Smith on various occasions threw her against a wall, picked her up by her neck, took a golf club to her car and broke her windshield after a recruiting dinner.

It appears the accusations, which Zach Smith denies, center around two incidents, one in 2009 (which Meyer said he knew about) and one in 2015 (which he claims he wasn’t aware of).

Here’s more from CNN:

Zach Smith, grandson of the Hall of Fame former Ohio State head coach Earle Bruce, and his wife moved to the Columbus area in 2012, and “everything went out of control,” Courtney Smith told Stadium. She felt the pressure of his job forced him into a toxic lifestyle, and he became abusive when questioned, she said.

Courtney Smith separated from him in 2015 after eight years of marriage, hoping it would end the abuse, but it didn’t, she said. In the 2015 incident, Zach Smith came to her house wanting to take their son, but it wasn’t his parenting night. She told him no, she recalled.

“When I stood up to him, he didn’t like it. He took me and shoved me up against the wall with his hands around my neck — something he did very often. My daughter was clinging to my leg,” she told Stadium.

She called police after he left with their son, but Zach Smith was never charged, she said. “I don’t know what happened,” she added.

At a news conference last week, Meyer said he was unaware of the 2015 allegations.

“I got a text last night that something happened in 2015, and there was nothing,” Meyer told reporters. “I don’t know who creates a story like that.”

Well, we’ll see. Add into the mix that Meyer’s wife, Shelley, may have known about the allegations in 2015 and the situation gets pretty dicey for Meyer and for the university.

If Coach Meyer knew, he had a moral and contractual obligation to do or say something.

And if he punted on that, then university administrators are going to have a tough time not benching the beloved coach permanently.

Then Brutus Buckeye will  be weeping.