Your inbox approves Men's coaches poll Women's coaches poll Play to win 25K!
COLLEGE
Ohio State University

Ohio State hit with two lawsuits over sexual abuse allegations made against team doctor

A.J. Perez
USA TODAY
Richard Strauss, shown in an undated photo, worked as a team doctor for Ohio State's wrestling team in the 1980s and '90s. He died in 2005.

Ohio State was hit with a pair of lawsuits this week by former wrestlers who claim university officials ignored complaints against a team doctor – with one complaint alleging as many as 2,500 male student athletes could have been subjected to sexual abuse or harassment.

A former OSU wrestler identified as John Doe 1 alleged in a lawsuit filed in an Ohio federal court Tuesday that Richard Strauss subjected him to “sexual harassment and inappropriate touching” during many of his approximately 20 medical examinations. That complaint follows Monday’s lawsuit in which four former OSU wrestlers alleged Strauss committed multiple instances of abuse during the 1980s and 1990s.

In that complaint, lawyers for the plaintiffs alleged that Strauss may have abused or harassed “1,500 to 2,500 male student athletes” during his 20 years at the school. Ohio State announced last month that former student athletes from 14 sports (baseball, cheerleading, cross country, fencing, football, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball and wrestling) along with students who were treated by Strauss at Student Health Services have come forward with sexual misconduct allegations.

"OSU forced student athletes to make a chilling decision: either seek treatment from Dr. Strauss and submit to his molestation, or forego treatment and live with illness or injury," lawyers alleged in Monday's lawsuit. "With their collegiate athletic careers and scholarships on the line, many athletes sought treatment from Dr. Strauss for their physical conditions, at a high cost to their mental and emotional health."

Strauss, who died by suicide in 2005, served in various roles at Ohio State – including as a team physician from 1981-1995 and as a professor – over a 20-year period. 

Both lawsuits seek class-action status, mirroring the approach taken by victims of former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State team doctor Larry Nasser. In May, Michigan State agreed to a $500 million settlement with Nasser's approximately 300 abuse survivors. 

“This is not what you expect to happen when our children go off to college,” Joseph Sauder, partner at the firm Sauder Schelkopf who filed Tuesday's lawsuit, said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. “Our client is courageously adding his voice on behalf of the many individuals who have been victimized while students at OSU.”

Ohio State said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports it was aware of the pending litigation against the school and that the Ohio Attorney General’s Office has tapped Michael Carpenter of Carpenter Lipps & Leland as the school’s legal counsel. 

The school launched an independent investigation led by the law firm Perkins Coie. 

"We are aware of reports that individuals at the university did not respond appropriately during that era," Ohio State said in the statement. "These allegations are troubling and are a critical focus of the current investigation."

The scandal ensnared Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State from 1987-1995. Several former wrestlers have said that Jordan ignored abuse allegations made against Strauss at the time. 

Jordan spokesman Ian Fury said in a statement earlier this month that Jordan "never saw any abuse, never heard about any abuse, and never had any abuse reported to him."

Follow Perez on Twitter @byajperez

 

Featured Weekly Ad