COLUMBUS (OH)
WCMH [Columbus OH]
May 8, 2026
By Katie Millard, Colleen Marshall
Thirty former Ohio State football players announced Thursday that they will join a lawsuit against the university over sexual abuse by former team physician Richard Strauss.
The university is already involved in litigation with over 100 survivors of Strauss’ abuse and has reached settlements with over 300. All 30 said they are survivors of Strauss, and many are among the earliest reports of his sexual abuse.
Attorney Rocky Ratliff, a Strauss survivor himself, is a part of one group of survivors suing Ohio State, and is representing another group in court. Many of the survivors who have come forward have been former wrestlers or swimmers. Ratliff said it was difficult for any survivors to come forward, but football players faced particular pressure to stay quiet.
Strauss survivor says Ohio State leaders making ‘excuses’ in abuse case
“The shame factor is there,” Ratliff said. “They don’t want to admit that this guy’s there and they didn’t do anything, these big, tough guys, you know?”
Of the 30 former Buckeyes, team captains and NFL players, three were members of the 1980 Rose Bowl team under coach Earle Bruce and were recruited by Bruce’s predecessor, Woody Hayes:
- Al Washington Sr., a linebacker with the eighth-most tackles at Ohio State who played eight seasons with the New York Jets;
- Ray Ellis, a former team captain who played defensive back for seven seasons in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns; and,
- Keith Ferguson, a team captain who played in the NFL for 10 seasons as a defensive end for the San Diego Chargers and a captain for the Detroit Lions.
“We stand together in solidarity as former teammates and Buckeyes who love our university and the legacy of Coach Woody Hayes. Coach Hayes always preached to us to ‘Pay Forward,’” Washington said. “Using our voices to pay forward in this situation is not easy, but we believe it is necessary to protect future athletes and to ensure accountability for what happened to us.”
Strauss sexually abused or raped hundreds of former Ohio State athletes while serving as an athletic physician from 1978 to 1998. Strauss’ abuse was known to some at the university but did not come to public attention until a survivor spoke out in 2018. Strauss died by suicide in 2005.
Ratliff said that in addition to the stigma surrounding male sexual assault, many players worry about retaliation from Ohio State or the football world. He said the football players who are survivors also did not want to disrespect Hayes or complicate things for the current Ohio State football team, which Ratliff said they respect.
Ratliff said the decision to come forward was especially hard for Washington, whose son was an assistant under current coach Ryan Day until 2021 and now works as the linebackers coach for the Miami Dolphins. Ratliff said Washington worried that coming forward would affect his son’s career and his own legacy.
“It takes a certain level of bravery, because to think about it, they were probably among the earliest victims of Strauss,” Ratliff said.
Ratliff said Washington’s son encouraged Washington to come forward. Washington also said he was motivated to speak publicly after watching HBO’s “Surviving Ohio State,” a documentary on Strauss’ abuse that featured Ratliff and NBC4’s Colleen Marshall.
“We are committed to seeing this through — not only for ourselves, but for every survivor who has carried this burden in silence,” Washington said. “We also feel a responsibility to defend the integrity of the program and Coach Hayes, who taught us about accountability, discipline and doing what is right.”
Before joining the lawsuit as a survivor, Washington’s relationship with Hayes encouraged him to speak out at “Woody or Wexner” protests on campus in recent months. The protests called for Ohio State to remove billionaire Les Wexner’s name from the Les Wexner Football Complex, housed within the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Wexner is a longtime university donor whose last name is on the football complex, the Wexner Center of the Arts and the Wexner Medical Center. He was a close acquaintance of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from the mid 1980s to 2007, when Wexner said he cut ties. Wexner has long denied knowledge or involvement in Epstein’s crimes and has never been charged in connection to them.
Ohio State President Ravi Bellamkonda said the university is reviewing the 500 name change requests pertaining to Wexner. He said the Wexners have been kind to the university and that it has no reason to act now based on the publicly available information.
Ratliff said the 30 former Buckeyes will likely have joint representation in their suit against Ohio State but have initially been signed up under Ratliff.
“It’s kind of nauseating but very surreal to hear their stories, which match my own from probably 15 years later,” Ratliff said.
Ohio State has previously said it does not comment on pending litigation. The university has covered the cost of professional counseling services and other medical treatments for survivors since 2019.