Former Ohio State University assistant football coach Zach Smith is back in trouble with the law, this time for allegedly violating a civil protection order.
Smith was arrested Thursday after staff members at Scioto Ridge Elementary School in Powell refused to let Smith pick up his children. The Columbus Dispatch reports Smith’s ex-wife Courtney was also present and police were called after a verbal altercation.
Smith was listed as inmate in the Delaware County Jail Friday morning.
Courtney Smith accused Zach Smith of violating an earlier civil protection order last May. In October, both agreed to an updated version to resolve criminal charges related to Zach Smith allegedly violating the previous order.
Former Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer fired Smith last July after public reports of those May charges and previous accusations of domestic violence by Zach Smith. Meyer initially denied any knowledge of those earlier accusations, then later said he advised the then-married couple to seek counseling.
At a press conference where Meyer accepted a three-game suspension, Meyer apologized for “following his heart, not his head” by giving Zach Smith “the benefit of the doubt.”
Meyer retired following the Rose Bowl on January 1 and now holds a position in Ohio State’s athletic department.
