COLUMBUS (OH)
Yahoo Sports
July 17, 2018
By Eric Adelson
We may find out how closely Jim Jordan was paying attention.
We will definitely find out how closely other universities are paying attention.
Four former Ohio State wrestlers have filed a federal class-action lawsuit claiming the school knew former team doctor Richard Strauss sexually abused athletes more than 20 years ago, and didn’t do anything to stop it.
The suit goes far beyond wrestling, alleging students in 14 sports were subject to “excessive and medically unnecessary fondling, touching, and groping.” But the attention will continue to gravitate to Jordan, the powerful congressman from Ohio who coached wrestling at the school before his political career took off. Jordan is not named in the suit, however a lawyer for the accusers told NBC News he expected him to be called as a witness.
“If I were Jim Jordan, I would be very concerned about this lawsuit,” says Katie Phang, partner at Berger Singerman in Miami. “The plaintiffs will want to depose him, and if he tries to avoid being deposed, a judge will most likely force him to sit for a deposition.”
It may not come to that, as there’s always a chance Ohio State will settle. However, this is a class-action suit, meaning other plaintiffs could join. That could pile up the testimony saying Jordan and others ignored the alleged abuse, but more importantly it could gather more evidence against Ohio State. Keep in mind the Larry Nassar allegations at Michigan State began with only a few accusers, and that number eventually grew into the hundreds.
The suit brings damning allegations to buttress what has already been reported. It states Strauss was nicknamed “Dr. Jelly Paws” for his “notoriously hands-on physical examinations,” and a former coach described Larkins Hall — a now demolished university recreation center — as a “cesspool of deviancy.” It adds that two wrestlers went so far as to meet with then-athletic director Andy Geiger and offered drawings of the locker room that would help with privacy and safety. According to the suit, Geiger promised to assist and did not follow through. (That meeting is said to have occurred during the 1994-95 season; Jordan was at the school from 1986 to 1994.) One student allegedly complained to the student health center about Strauss as far back as 1978.
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