Survivors of Dr. Richard Strauss say Ohio Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan knew about the sexual abuse the student-athletes suffered, according to HBO’s new documentary, “Surviving Ohio State.”
Jordan declined to be interviewed for the documentary, but his name is frequently brought up by former Ohio State wrestlers and a referee. The documentary came out last month. Over the years, Jordan has repeatedly denied having any knowledge of the abuse.
“To say that (Jordan) knew nothing, that nothing ever happened, it’s a flat out lie,” former Ohio State Wrestler Dan Ritchie said in the documentary.
Strauss sexually abused at least 177 male victims between 1979 and 1996 during his time as a physician for Ohio State’s Athletics Department and at the university’s Student Health Center, according to an independent investigation commissioned by Ohio State University.
Strauss retired from Ohio State University in 1998 and died by suicide in 2005 when he was 67. Jordan was an Ohio State assistant wrestling coach from 1987 to 1995.
“Chairman Jordan never saw or heard of any abuse, and if he had, he would have dealt with it,” said Russell Dye, spokesperson for Jordan.
At one point in the documentary, Ritchie said Jordan claimed, “If (Strauss) ever did that to me, I’d snap his neck like a stick of dry balsa wood.”
In the documentary, wrestling referee Fred Feeney shared his experience with Strauss sexually assaulting him in the shower after a wrestling match.
He said he told then Ohio State Wrestling Coach Russ Hellickson and Jordan that Strauss was masturbating beside Feeney in the shower.
“Jim Jordan looked at me straight in my face and said, ‘It’s Strauss. You know what he does,’” Feeney said in the documentary.
Jordan turned to politics after coaching — serving in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1995 to 2000 and the Ohio State Senate from 2001 to 2006 before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where he represents Ohio’s 4th Congressional District. He is up for reelection next year.
Former Ohio State wrestler Mike Schyck said he thought Jordan would help the Strauss abuse survivors.
“Jim Jordan is a pit bull,” Schyck said in the documentary. “And so I figured why in the hell wouldn’t this guy step up for us?”
The documentary shows television clips of Jordan adamantly denying he knew about the abuse.
“I’ve stood up to the FBI,” Jordan said when pressed by NBC4 reporter Colleen Marshall in a clip from the documentary. “I’ve stood up to the IRS. So if I thought there was something wrong, if I knew there was something wrong happening, I would have stood up for them.”
“There was no truth to the fact that I knew of any abuse,” Jordan said in July 2018 during a press gaggle with central Ohio reporters. “I’ve talked to other coaches, they didn’t know about any abuse. It’s just not accurate to say those things, that we know of it and didn’t report it. It’s just not true.”
Ohio State University has settled with 296 survivors who sued the university for more than $60 million.
“We express our deep regret and apologies to all who experienced Strauss’ abuse,” Ohio State University Spokesperson Chris Booker said in an email. “… All male students who filed lawsuits have been offered the opportunity to settle.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he has not seen “Surviving Ohio State,” but recently referenced the working group he established back in 2019 in response to the Strauss abuse that sought a review of medical board sexual misconduct cases for the last 25 years.
“I’m confident that we, at that point, did everything that we could do and we look forward to the future in regard to making sure that the medical board reacts, when there are reports that come in, in an appropriate way and has the expertise within that board, and the right people,” DeWine said Monday when asked about the documentary.
DeWine signed Ohio Senate Bill 109 into law last year which enables the State Medical Board of Ohio to hold licensees accountable when they engage in sexual misconduct or commit sexual crimes.