You remember the saga of former Ohio State football assistant Zach Smith, right? How could you forget?
Stadium’s Brett McMurphy dropped a bombshell report over the summer when he broke the story about allegations of multiple instances of domestic abuse by Smith against his then-wife Courtney. Soon after, more domestic violence allegations involving Smith surfaced, two different arrests from 2015 and one from 2009. 50 minutes following the follow-up report, Ohio State fired Smith over the allegations. Head coach Urban Meyer tried to pretend he didn’t know about some of the incidents and it was then made abundantly clear that he did. Meyer was placed on a leave of absence and allowed to return after serving a three-game suspension that he clearly didn’t seem to think he deserved. Meanwhile, more of Smith’s transgressions became public and he left a black mark on OSU, Meyer, and everyone else around him.
The whole issue seemed to fade into the background (somehow) except for the fact that it gave America some much-needed fuel to openly dislike Urban Meyer and delight in OSU’s loss to Purdue last weekend. Then, Tuesday, news broke that Smith had accepted a plea deal with his ex-wife over the latest domestic assault incident, bringing it back into the national consciousness.
Smith pleaded guilty to the charge of disorderly conduct and in exchange, the criminal trespassing charge was dismissed. He was ordered to pay $289 in fines and court fees. The judge also awarded Courtney Smith a three-year protection order.
With this latest legal issue officially closed, Smith did what any smart person would do. He took to Twitter and dropped a sizable statement that was a mixture of vindication, spite, and disdain for the judicial and media processes that got him here. He also referred to the protection order as a mutual protection order, downplaying the one-sided nature of the deal.
“As I have stated from day one, I was falsely accused of very serious allegations that should not be taken light. As well as charged with breaking a law that I did not break. The media circus that ensued caused a great deal of harm to my family, my grandfather’s legacy and ruined my professional career I worked extremely hard for since 2005.”
“To those people who sent hateful and horrible messages: I am praying for you.”
Not content to quit while ahead, Smith took notice of McMurphy’s reporting on the decision and took issue with the verbiage. He then laid into McMurphy with the kind of aggressive zeal that seemed to have landed him in this situation in the first place.
Definitely a cool and measured response.
McMurphy did take some heat during the ordeal from Ohio State fans as well as over the necessity of some facts he reported and edits made to his initial report after the fact. However, it’s not really required of McMurphy to do anything more than back up his reporting with facts and evidence when needed and he’s done so. The allegations against Smith may, in fact, be overstated, but there are also quite a few incidents that added up over the course of the investigation, to paint a picture of Smith that his reaction on Twitter did nothing to refute.