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LGHL Ohio State WR coach Zach Smith fired after domestic violence allegations surface

Alexis Chassen

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Ohio State WR coach Zach Smith fired after domestic violence allegations surface
Alexis Chassen
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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After reports last week about a trespassing charge for Smith, more information has come to light.

Ohio State wide receivers coach Zach Smith — grandson of OSU legend Earle Bruce — was fired on Monday, after being served papers on Friday for a protection order by his ex-wife, Courtney Smith.


Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has announced the termination of wide receiver’s coach Zach Smith.

— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) July 23, 2018

Details of the protection order were released early Monday in a report posted on Facebook by Brett McMurphy.


The ruling states: “the court finds that (Courtney Smith) is in immediate and present danger of domestic violence and for good cause the following temporary orders are necessary to protect the persons named (Courtney Smith and her children Cameron, 8, and Quinn, 6) in this order from domestic violence.”

The civil protection order is for five years, according to McMurphy, unless a judge reverses the decision at a scheduled hearing on Aug. 3.

This news comes a week after Smith was charged with a misdemeanor for criminal trespassing, when the OSU recruiter dropped off their son at Courtney’s home versus a pre-arranged public place — a violation of a previous criminal trespass warning.

Smith’s attorney Bradley Koffel recently told the Columbus Dispath, “He didn’t do anything illegal and now it’s coming out that he’s some sort of wife-beater, trespasser, whatever.”

Those allegations aren’t just out of thin air, however. This is not the first domestic violence accusation against Smith, who was previously arrested for aggravated battery in 2009 — while he was still an assistant for the University of Florida — against Courtney, when she was 8-10 weeks pregnant.

Despite the arrest, Courtney didn’t press charges, and the matter was dropped, but the details provided by McMurphy from the police report are still jarring.


On June 21, 2009, according to a Gainesville (Fla.) Police Incident report, Courtney, then 24, stated her husband Zach, then 25, “picked her up by grabbing her T-shirt and threw her against the bedroom wall located upstairs in their apartment.”

Courtney told officers Zach arrived at the residence “with an unknown female co-worker that he was partying with” and Courtney “refused to have the unknown female, who Zach kept referring to as ‘baby,’ spend the night at their residence.”

Courtney stated “a verbal argument took place over the female and questions of infidelity arose. Courtney stated Zach was intoxicated and she took the female to her house. … Courtney stated when she returned to her residence, a heated argument ensued in the upstairs bedroom. Courtney stated she tried to get Zach out of her bed, which he refused and then forcefully grabbed her.”

The report said “Zach advised (officers) he works for UF Florida Gators as an assistant coach for the football team. Zach stated that he brought the female (co-worker) home because she was upset from breaking up with her boyfriend. … Zach stated that Courtney yelled at him and denied picking her up and throwing her into a wall. Zach had a visible red mark on his right bicep that he claimed was a result of breaking up a fight downtown at a club.

“(The officers) observed that Courtney’s shirt had been stretched just above her right breast. Courtney’s account of the incident was consistent with the redness to Zach’s right bicep because she advised that she attempted to hit him while he was picking her up.

“From the statements made on scene, (the officers) determined Zach was the primary aggressor.” He was then handcuffed and arrested.

McMurphy also reported on yet another domestic violence charge against Smith from back in 2015.


Ohio State WR coach Zach Smith was fired 50 minutes after I reported another domestic violence charge against Smith, this one from 2015 https://t.co/fcxi8GKyeI

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 23, 2018

Smith worked under Meyer at UF from 2005-09, and then joined the Buckeye staff in 2012.

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