Ohio State Buckeyes Place Urban Meyer on Administrative Leave

Ohio State football head coach, Urban Meyer, was placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday ahead of an ongoing investigation.

The school announced that it is investigating allegations of domestic abuse brought forth by Courtney Smith, ex-wife of Zach Smith, former Buckeyes assistance coach. Smith claims that Meyer and people close to him were aware of the domestic abuse she endured in 2015. In an interview with Stadium, she stated that Meyer was an enabler to her abuser and chose to believe whatever her ex-husband told him.

During the Big Ten Conference media days in July, Meyer denied having any knowledge about the alleged abuse incident that was reported in 2015.

According to ESPN, a contract extension signed by Meyer in April includes language that would require him to report domestic abuse by university employees to the university’s Title IX coordinator. At this time it is unclear whether or not Smith’s allegations would be considered a Title IX violation.

Meyer’s placement on leave came just two days before the Buckeyes are set to begin fall camp. Both the university and Meyer released statements regarding the investigation on Wednesday.

Ohio State has released the following statement regarding head football coach Urban Meyer. pic.twitter.com/wZc8nQoYo4

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) August 1, 2018

Offensive coordinator, Ryan Day, will act as the interim head coach during this investigation.