Courtney Smith, Zach Smith's Ex-Wife, Responds to Cheating Accusations Made Against Tom Herman

Courtney Smith responded to allegations made by her ex-husband, disgraced former Ohio State wide receivers coach Zach Smith, against Texas coach Tom Herman in a profanity-laden Twitter tirade on Sunday.

Smith accused Herman of cheating on his wife multiple times during their stint together as assistant coaches at Ohio State and threatened to expose other transgressions committed by the coach.

Courtney Smith, who developed a close relationship with Herman's wife, Michelle, commented on the incident and claimed it was "unfair" for her ex-husband to attack the couple for ensuring her safety during his alleged domestic abuse of her.

"To begin with, we became close after she left Ohio State and I felt more comfortable confiding in her because Tom was no longer Zach's superior," Smith wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. "At that point in 2015, I confided in her about the physical abuse, among other things that were going on. Because it was the right thing to do, she then passed that information onto Shelley Meyer. They cut off all contact with Zach and once Zach learned of her role in exposing things to Shelley, he became enraged with her. The threats against them began then and because he wanted to isolate me from anyone who could help, any contact with her fueled his rage even more. Michelle never backed down to him and was a constant source of support while I tried to piece my life back together. So much so, that she loaned me money over a year ago to stay in nursing school when I was drowning in legal debt from the divorce.

"It is beyond unfair for them to face attacks for simply trying to ensure my safety and the safety of the people that were still on staff at OSU. Neither Michelle or Tom ever spoke to Brett McMurphy about anything that had to do with Zach. That lie was just another one of Zach's delusions and an attempt by him to damage their reputation. I am the only person that has ever spoken to Brett. For the most part, they have simply remained supportive of my attempts to rebuild my life.

"I feel terrible that Michelle has now become his target, but unfortunately that is usually the case for anyone who tries to intervene in domestic abuse situations. However, Michelle is one of the strongest people I know and I know she will carry on as always by caring for and supporting her family and being a great friend."

Zach Smith and Tom Herman worked together on Urban Meyer's Buckeyes staff from 2012-14 until Herman left to accept the head coaching job at Houston. Smith and Herman were reportedly close during that time having spent many recruiting trips together.

However, the relationship has since seemingly deteriorated as Ohio State opened an investigation into how the athletic department handled accusations of domestic violence made against Smith by his ex-wife. The investigation, which followed the legal accusations made by his wife, as well as Smith's termination, ultimately led to Meyer serving a three-game suspension.

Herman was allegedly responsible for alerting reporter Brett McMurphy to Smith's previously unreported 2009 arrest, which took place when he worked under Meyer at Florida, after his ex-wife alleged he abused her, according to an Aug. 11 report from Jeff Snook.

According to Snook, Herman was reportedly upset because Smith helped the Buckeyes land a commitment from Garrett Wilson, a 5-star wide receiver from Austin, Texas, who spurned the Longhorns in the process.

The Texas head coach later denied the report, claiming that he and his wife only assisted Smith's ex-wife financially in March 2017.

However, Herman's name would once again be tied to the investigation after Ohio State released a 23-page report following the investigation into how Meyer and other staff members became aware of allegations facing Smith.

According to the report, an unnamed Buckeyes staffer, who was later confirmed by an OSU spokesman to be Herman, along with "one or more high school coaches," attended a strip club with Zach Smith during a recruiting trip to Florida in May 2014.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

");jQuery(this).remove()}) jQuery('.start-slider').owlCarousel({loop:!1,margin:10,nav:!0,items:1}).on('changed.owl.carousel',function(event){var currentItem=event.item.index;var totalItems=event.item.count;if(currentItem===0){jQuery('.owl-prev').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-prev').removeClass('disabled')} if(currentItem===totalItems-1){jQuery('.owl-next').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-next').removeClass('disabled')}})}})})

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrK6enZtjsLC5jpymrqqko7K6edKmoK2gXa%2BupLSMrKSirJhisrl51qKdnmWimsCxu82dqmabmJqutbXNoGSam5OqwKLAyKilrGWdlrGmecCgmKKmo6l6cn6Qa2xrcQ%3D%3D