Rocky Ratliff, a former OSU wrestler, is now an Ohio-based lawyer representing 46 former Buckeye athletes. Dr. Richard Strauss was a serial sexual predator, an unchecked terror, stalking the Ohio State campus for nearly two decades. One of the founders of the House Freedom Caucus, Jordan is a conservative star, and he had been floated as making a bid for House Speaker Paul Ryans job Ryan is retiring at the end of this term. IE 11 is not supported. But when it comes to adultsboth men and womenwhen we think about adult victimization, societally, we are more likely to engage in victim blaming. Soon, the athlete says he began to feel groggy, like he was going to pass out. He would tell me, Its not on the schedule. Bechtel recalls feeling deeply uncomfortable by Strausss examination. "Many, if not most, of the men who contacted us did so with great hesitation.". The Strauss investigation was launched 13 months ago after a whistleblowing former OSU wrestler named Mike DiSabato came forward and said he was victimized by Strauss. I would ask myself: Is this injury bad enough that Im willing to get molested for it?. We aim to give research-driven, smart, and accessible information to everyone who wants it. The investigation and. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) A now-dead Ohio State team doctor sexually abused at least 177 male students from the 1970s through the 1990s, and numerous university officials got wind of what was going on over the years but did little or nothing to stop him, according to a report released by the school Friday. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Lawyers for men suing Ohio State University over decades-old alleged sexual misconduct by a team doctor say the growing number of accusers has topped 300. And the Ohio state legislators [who approved the settlements] would have taken up our cause much harder than they did. The investigation and. The 332 victims of Larry Nassar drew from a settlement pool of $425 million, an average of almost $1.3 million per claim. Garrett noticed immediately that Strauss kept little paperwork or charts and ministered to Ohio State athletes. Totals confirmed to The Associated Press put the group's size in the same ballpark as the initial wave of plaintiffs who got $425 million from Michigan State University to settle claims related to Larry Nassar , the now-imprisoned gymnastics doctor accused of molesting hundreds of women and girls. All the locker room banter and nicknames masked the reality. Here's the backstory . (Krebs would go on to become athletic director at the University of New Mexico where he would be charged with seven felony counts including fraud, money laundering and other felonies. It retained a local law firm which then retained the prominent Seattle-based law firm Perkins Coie to conduct an independent investigation. It is abhorrent, she says. A firehose of candor with connections within Columbus and the OSU alumni network, DiSabato courted the media, reaching out personally to reporters, and was happy to add accelerant to the fire. The school says a physician who worked in the student health center . Theres still some debate on the left about whether that was the right thing to do, but in the #MeToo era, Democrats, at least in that case, decided Franken couldnt be kept around. One likely answer: because of the same collision of factors and social norms that enabled Strausss predatory behavior to persist for so long in the first place. While Strauss was no athlete and weighed barely 140 pounds, not long after he was hired at OSU, he began volunteering to work with OSU teams at Larkins Hall, then the schools main physical education building. According to Ratliff: Strauss would say, Hey youre having a hard time on the ice? It was significant, too, that Strausss survivors were male athletes, another factor that brought the shroud of secrecy. Ohio State has said that they have received more than 100 allegations of assault. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Lawyers for men suing Ohio State University over decades-old alleged sexual misconduct by a team doctor say the growing number of accusers has topped 300. Now in his early 60s, he says he continues to experience extreme and regular anxiety and finds himself continuously haunted by Dr. Strausss abuse., And as much as the victims talk about closure for themselves and accountability from Ohio State, both remain elusive. Dailey, who calls Jordan a close friend and donated to his first political campaign in 1994, also corroborated Yetts account that he had asked Jordan to step in: Dunyasha comes back and tells Jimmy, Seriously, why do I have to pull down my pants for a thumb injury? Dailey recalled. scumbag Richard Strauss was a doctor who was employed by the OSU athletics dept. Theres no way society as a whole is going to look at wrestlers and football players the way they do five-feet-tall gymnasts, says Ratliff, the lawyer and former OSU wrestler. Strausss victims would span two decades, from 1978 to 1998, and include athletes who would go on to play in the NFL and fight in the cages of UFC. Suck it up if you get assaulted or abused, Garrett says. The university has said it has received testimony of sexual abuse and misconduct from male students from 14 different sports teams, and some students who were patients through the universitys health services unit. That is clearly wrong. Strauss' abuse ranged from groping under the guise of a medical examination to "fondling to the point of erection and ejaculation," the report states. He also volunteered that his medical research was in sperm production. The investigation and. Columbus, Ohio A now-dead Ohio State team doctor sexually abused at least 177 male students from the 1970s through the 1990s, and numerous university officials got wind of what was going on . The lawyers involved won't publicly discuss the negotiations. It tore the whole community apart, says Coleman. This terror had happened at the Ohio State, a school many had supported since they were kids, a school that conferred on them a scholarship. His overall evaluation was excellent. The report characterized Strauss as a guiding force in the program development [who] always keeps the patients needs first, adding that I look forward to many more new and creative steps in the mens clinic. There were no references to any complaints. Jim Jordan facing new accusation that he ignored warnings of sexual abuse at Ohio State, Congressman accused of turning blind eye to sex abuse at Ohio State, Referee claims Rep. Jordan knew of sexual abuse at Ohio State. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Lawyers for men suing Ohio State University over decades-old alleged sexual misconduct by a team doctor say the growing number of accusers has topped 300. It was an eye-opener, Coleman says, pausing. @Jim_Jordan: "I never saw, never heard of, never was told about any type of abuse. Ohio State is a fundamentally different university today and over the past 20 years has committed substantial resources to prevent and address sexual misconduct., For two decades, though, Strausss abuse continued unchecked, the roster of affected athletes growing each year. More than 100 former Ohio State students say they were sexually assaulted by a former university athletic doctor, the university announced Friday about an ongoing investigation. Each week, we explore unique solutions to some of the world's biggest problems. At practice, Coleman inquired about Strauss. its not necessarily physical violence or attack by a stranger.. On the same day that the university announced its investigation, he was quoted in the paper: The young gymnasts at Michigan State who showed amazing courage have awakened many who have had enough of a system which fosters and supports deviant sexual predators, he said. It was almost impossible for many to reconcile, not least some of the survivors themselves. Coach after coach used the term open secret to describe Strauss. After years in Columbus, he left central Ohio and moved to Southern California. We all put up with it. An investigation commissioned by the university and conducted by the Perkins Coie law firm found that what Strauss was doing was an open secret and that the coaches and administrators at Ohio State knew for two decades that the doctor was abusing students but failed to stop him, according to a report released in May. Grace told the board, There are many male athletes that have been abused by Dr. Strauss. Askled, later, what he meant by many, Grace, said, under oath, Three, four, five, six. Lawyers for men suing Ohio State University over decades-old alleged sexual misconduct by a team doctor say the growing number of accusers has topped 300. Which makes it that much worse., McCray, who received her PhD. His urine was discolored, and he was in serious pain on account of a kidney infection. His questions were greeted with levity and laughter. The 162 plaintiffs agreeing to the settlement, many of them former football players, received a combined $41 million, roughly $250,000 per victim. Asked about the notion that Strauss held sway over athletes because he was prescribing them PEDs, the trainer says: Yeah. After the release of the Strauss report, Ohio State responded with a series of public statements and emails, projecting remorse and accountability and referring to the university of today, differentiating it from the university that allowed one doctor to traumatize so many students. Ohio State spokesman Ben Johnson said Thursday that the university "has led the effort to investigate and expose the misdeeds of Richard Strauss and the systemic failures to respond, and the university is committed to a fair resolution. Thats where Vox comes in. OK, Ill take care of it, Hellickson said, according to the court papers. Asked the following year by OSU attorneys why Strauss would receive such a glowing review without even making reference to multiple complaints, Grace wrote, for legal reasons, we would never mention a serious allegation against a physician on their evaluation form, which is a permanent part of their personnel record. It was viewed as a competitive advantage. By his junior year, the athlete quit the football team and dropped out of OSU. There were no lies in the evaluation. They would also includecritically, it would turn outmale undergraduates from the general student population, unencumbered by the OSU athletic department, the athlete culture, or fealty to Buckeye Nation, making them more likely to speak out. Shawn Dailey, another former wrestler, told NBC News he was groped a half a dozen times by Strauss but didnt tell Jordan about it at the time because he was too embarrassed. John Doe 42 said that when he informed Jordan and Hellickson about what happened, their response was, Yeah, yeah, we know., It was common knowledge what Strauss was doing, so the attitude was it is what it is, he told NBC News. He spiraled downward. Most of them were athletes and most were listed anonymously as John Doe. The student stormed out of the examination, yelling to other students in the waiting room that Strauss was a pervert and warning them to get out of there right away., This time, the university placed Strauss on administrative leave and scheduled hearings to determine whether he should be fired. And years later, testifying under oath in a deposition, Grace would say that he had taken his files concerning Strauss to his home. He reportedly volunteered at a medical clinic near Hermosa Beach that treats an underserved population. One of those witnesses was retired wrestling coach Russ Hellickson, who also is not named in the report, sources said. The scandal gained national attention earlier this month, after more than five former wrestlers claimed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) ignored the sexual abuse of athletes and students by a former team doctor during his tenure as the assistant coach of Ohio States wrestling team from 1986 to 1994. He abruptly ended the exam, saying to the doctor that his behavior was weird. Mulvin says he went to the student health center to finish the exam with a different doctor and explained what had happened with Strauss. With still more complaints pending, Strauss retired voluntarily from OSU in 1998. Upon his retirement, Strauss was conferred the honorific emeritus status by OSU. Brian Garrett, the nursing student assaulted by Strauss in 1996, is the named plaintiff in one suit. One wrestler, Mike DiSabato, said he knew Jordan was aware because it was something the athletes regularly discussed, mainly with nervous banter, locker room banter.. Lawyers for men suing Ohio State University over decades-old alleged sexual misconduct by a team doctor say the growing number of accusers has topped 300. In the course of the examination, which Strauss performed alone in his office, the doctor fondled Bechtels testicles. The Perkins Coie report doubles as a compendium of personal tragedy, of potential drained and lives damaged. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Nothing was done. The scandal has imbued the former athletes with ambiguous feelings toward the school. [54] Bechtel recalls being in the training room for postgame treatment when a member of the opposing team entered, complaining of a toe infection. This guy controlled my future, Coleman recalls. I was confused. according to the report. After graduating, DiSabato started a licensing apparel business that produced Buckeyes merchandise. I never saw, never heard of, never was told of any kind of abuse, Jordan told Fox News Bret Baier on July 6. (The spokesperson added that the university encourages individuals with information to reach out to its Office of Compliance and Integrity.). Several former wrestlers said Jordan was aware of the misconduct. After the article was published, a committee aide said the panel would look into the broader issue of preventing abuse, revising an earlier statement that suggested the committee would look into Jordan's involvement. We joked about it. Jordan does not appear to be named in the redacted report. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Its a big fallacy that someone should automatically be fighting, she says. But he said Jordan was present for conversations about Strauss and that it was very common knowledge in the locker room that if you went to Dr. Strauss for anything, you would have to pull your pants down.. According the Department of Justice data, male college-aged students (18-24) are 78% more likely than non-students of the same age to be a survivor of rape or sexual assault. But the athletes who have come forward say he definitely knew what was going on. Help keep that work free for all. OSU cited three complaints by students in a period of 13 months. Strauss protested this removal from the athletic and Student Health departments, even appealing to then-President E. Gordon Gee. By early April, the university realized that the allegations were explosive and a major sex abuse scandal was brewing. Ill make you bigger. Shame persists, too. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Lawyers for men suing Ohio State University over decades-old alleged sexual misconduct by a team doctor say the growing number of accusers has topped 300. It was a cesspool of deviancy. Strauss, who signed on at Ohio State as an attending physician in September 1978 and served as the team physician in the athletics department from July 1981 to June 1995, died in 2005. Its very clear that middle-aged Jerry Sandusky should not be showering with a 10-year-old boy. To avoid retraumatizing those affected, thePerkins Coieinvestigators did not actively pursue leads, asking simply that anyone affected or interested in speaking should establish contact. Strauss instructed Murphy to relax and explained that he was performing a treatment and probing for tissue damage.. But in the same letter, Lombardo dismissed the claims as lacking merit, writing that they were based on rumors generated over 10 years with no foundation. Strauss volunteered to discontinue working with the fencing team, and the matter was not reported outside the athletic department. More than one concedes his sexual performance has been compromised. In a letter to David Williams II, OSUs vice president for student affairs, Strauss denied inappropriate behavior, writing: It is unfortunate that the patient ejaculated in my office, but thats his problem, not mine., In July of 1996, quietlybut without public disgraceStrauss was dropped from his Student Health Services position and stripped of duties in the athletic department. How do you punch a doctor in the face when hes [claiming to be] treating you?, Strausss mere title of doctor conferred a level of status and authority. His method was to use the state university to get access., At the clinic, complaints against Strauss mounted. As then-OSU President Drake wrote to OSU alumni and former Buckeye athletes on May 17, 2019, Strauss's actions and the universitys inaction at the time were unacceptable. The school also offered to cover the cost of counseling for those impacted by Strauss. He has said the allegations against him were politically motivated. Nobody supports that. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Ohio, implies that Jordan's response to the incident, which the referee said happened in 1994, was essentially a shrug. Why didnt you fight back? Witnessing this decline, Earle Bruce, the football coach, required him to get a mental health evaluation. People say, Why would they let a little man do this? That so many people had to be subjected [to Strauss], and I didnt stop it? Coaches and athletic administrators at Ohio State University knew for two decades that Dr. Richard Strauss was molesting male athletes but failed to sound the alarm or stop him, a. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Jim Jordan knew, they all knew, and they did nothing, DiSabato said. A former Ohio State University wrestler accused Rep. Jim Jordan on Friday of lying about not knowing of sexual abuse allegations against a university doctor during his time as an assistant coach . Get back to your mat.. Ohio State announced in April it was investigating allegations about Strauss. DiSabato told NBC, based on testimony from victim athletes from each of the aforementioned varsity sports, we estimate that Strauss sexually assaulted and/or raped a minimum of 1,500 - 2,000 athletes at OSU from 1978 through 1998.. Ford died in 2016. The following day, the athlete says he reported the sexual violation to OSUs wrestling coach, Chris Ford. Corky Siemaszko is a senior writer for NBC News Digital. An Ohio State spokesperson declined to comment specifically on these claims, referring to a line in a report the school commissioned from the law firm Perkins Coie on Strauss stating that the firms investigators received one second-hand report that Strauss provided steroids, but they could not corroborate it. ", Larkins Hall was perceived to be a sexualized and, at times, predatory environment by many of the male students who frequented the facility, particularly in the mens locker room, shower room and sauna, the report stated. Many of the men who have publicly recounted their experiences, including the ex-wrestler who spurred the investigation , allege they were fondled during medical exams. Shortly after the incident, by his own admission, he began getting into fights, abusing alcohol and missing classes. Most of them didnt entirely grasp until later in their lives that they had been assaulted and raped. Predators are very good at getting access to their prey, says Ilann Maazel, a New York-based attorney at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff who represents 93 of the survivors. Dr. Richard Strauss in his 1978 employment application from Ohio State University's personnel files.