After the very first call Courtney Smith made to police, Urb sent his friend and Zach’s grandpa to talk to Courtney about what charges would do to Zach’s career. I am shocked that she decided not to press charges and had second thoughts about it from then on. He sent older men to intimidate a relatively newly married woman after she was abused. Hooray. I’m sure that had no effect on her future reports.
I don't think we will ever know all the details of that 2009 conversation, but I would be willing to let that slide, if there's any truth to Urban's story (which is of course debatable) -- i.e. if it was the first offense by Z Smith, they're a young couple, and it looks like both parties bear some blame. Then get them into counseling, etc.
But Urbs should have been (and surely was) aware of the subsequent incidents, and did nothing other than discuss internally how to keep it quiet. As was semi-acknowledged by the BoT, Urban shouldn't have had to wait for a police report to take action. There was ample evidence in 2015 that Z Smith needed to go.
What boggles my mind is how the BoT can reconcile these facts:
Urban and AD Gene Smith both were aware of ongoing police investigations into the 2015 incident(s), and
had discussions on the issue "for months" (per the presser). How could anyone "not recall" such a major event 3 years later?
What I saw in the presser was the typical song and dance from both Urban and Gene Smith:
Deflect
Deny
Cover up
Backtrack
Save face
But don't by any means take responsibility for any wrongdoing.
