Ohio State University has announced that head coach Urban Meyer will be suspended for the first three games of the season, as a result of an investigation that proved he "mishandled domestic assault allegations" made against former Buckeyes assistant Zach Smith, and misrepresented what he knew about the situation in a public statement in July.
According to reports, Meyer is suspended without pay and banned from interacting with the football team through September 2. He can rejoin the team at that point, but will not be able to coach in games against Oregon State, Rutgers and #16 ranked TCU.
"I followed my heart and not my head," Meyer said in a news conference. "... I gave Zach Smith the benefit of the doubt."
Meyer told reporters at last month's Big Ten Media Day that he was unaware of the 2015 domestic violence incident, claiming he was only informed of the situation right before his appearance.
However, according to a report by Brett McMurphy, Meyer did have knowledge of the 2015 incident in which Smith was arrested for felonious assault and domestic violence of his then-wife. Smith was fired last month after he was charged with criminal trespassing in relation to dropping his children off at his ex-wife's home against her wishes. McMurphy's report also outlined a string of interviews and text messages that shows Meyer was well aware of the situation, despite his denial.
Check out some more details of Ohio State's investigation in the tweets embedded below.
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