COLUMBUS (OH)
WCMH [Columbus OH]
May 13, 2026
By Katie Millard
Ohio State University is asking a federal court to dismiss dozens of cases in ongoing litigation over the sexual abuse by former university physician Richard Strauss.
Strauss sexually abused and assaulted hundreds of student athletes from 1978 to 1998. Over 200 survivors of Strauss’ abuse are involved in lawsuits against Ohio State, alleging it failed to protect students and contributed to a cover-up. Ohio State denies the allegations and said a small number of people had the authority to act.
On behalf of Ohio State, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a motion Sunday asking the court to dismiss claims from former students who faced abuse before October 1986. If approved, the request would affect about 80 cases where survivors are seeking reparations for abuse that took place during Strauss’ first eight years at OSU.
The motion is based on a 1986 law that made it possible for individuals to sue state universities for damages under Title IX. Before that date, schools like Ohio State were immune from claims seeking payments for Title IX violations. The law, passed by Congress, removed public schools’ sovereign immunity under Title IX.
On Tuesday, Judge Michael Watson directed survivors’ lawyers to respond to two of the cases, both anonymous former athletes. Watson said after the survivors respond, he will rule on those two cases. The rulings should be simple to extend to other cases, Watson said.
Watson said if the two cases, John Does 101 and 8, are found to not be viable under sovereign immunity, it will be easy to translate the ruling to the other 80 cases. If John Does 101 and 8 are dismissed, Watson said he would establish a deadline for factual disputes for the remaining 80 cases Ohio State wants thrown out.
According to court documents, John Doe 101 was a walk-on football player who participated in a study Strauss was doing, during which Strauss conducted a genital exam. John Doe 8 played lacrosse and testified that Strauss took an abnormally long time while examining his genitals.
If approved, the dismissal would likely affect many of the newest plaintiffs in the survivors’ lawsuits against Ohio State. On Thursday, 30 former Ohio State football players announced they would join the lawsuit. Many of them were among the earliest cases of Strauss’ abuse at OSU.Ohio economists say data centers have more costs than benefits under current laws
Most of the football players chose to be anonymous, but former NFL players Al Washington Sr., Ray Ellis and Keith Ferguson put their names on what they said is a push for justice and accountability. Rocky Ratliff, a lawyer representing one group of victims and a Strauss survivor involved in litigation himself, said it was particularly difficult for football players to come forward.
“It takes a certain level of bravery, because to think about it, they were probably among the earliest victims of Strauss,” Ratliff said.
Washington, Ellis and Ferguson were all drafted to the NFL in 1981, several years before the cutoff Ohio State hopes to introduce.
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.
Since 2019, OSU has covered the cost of counseling and other medical treatment for Strauss survivors. As the lawsuit continues, over 300 survivors have settled with OSU and over 100 more continue in litigation. About one-third would be affected if Watson agrees with Ohio State to dismiss early cases.