Current Events > Gym Jordan Speaker candidacy "roils" Ohio wrestling community

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https://www.si.com/college/2023/10/13/jim-jordan-speaker-candidacy-roils-osu-wrestling-community

They came from the cities and from small towns. They spanned generations and races and body types. Some looked like they could still make weight; others not so much. It was the summer of 2021, and around 30 former Ohio State wrestlers quietly converged on a high school outside Columbus for a meeting. Others joined virtually. It had the look of a team reunion, but the mood was considerably more somber. This was akin to a family intervention, a revival meeting to attempt to repair the programs ripped fabric.

It had been three years since one of the wrestlers, Mike DiSabato, had come forward with accounts that when he wrestled for OSU in the late 80s and 90s, the team doctor, Richard Strauss, had sexually assaulted him. He was, effectively, the whistleblower in what would be shorthanded The Strauss Scandal.

It would metastasize, and soon hundreds of other former OSU athletesdisproportionately wrestlersshared their experiences of being groomed, assaulted and in some cases raped by the serial predator who was also the team doctor.

The trauma was compounded by a sense of betrayal. Wrestler after wrestler recalled complaining about Strauss to the head coach, Russ Hellickson, and to Jim Jordan, a onetime wrestling star in Wisconsin who served as OSUs assistant coach from 1986 to 94.

In some cases, the wrestlers can recount specific dialogue with striking exactitude. Dunyasha Yetts, an All-American wrestler in the 90s, recalls complaining to Jordan that he saw Strauss about a thumb injury and stormed out of the room when the doctor attempted to pull down his shorts.

Yetts recalls Jordan saying that if Strauss ever approached him in a sexual manner, hed kill him. Dan Ritchie, another wrestler, says he was present when Jordan was informed of abuse from Strauss. Jordans response: "If he did that to me, I'd snap his neck like a twig of dried balsa wood."

In all, at least 11 former wrestlersas well as a wrestling refereehave said the OSU coaches knew and chose to do nothing. Strauss would continue to go unchecked until the mid 90s, assaulting athletes without consequence.

Nick Nutter, an All-American OSU wrestler in the 90s and a Strauss survivor, recounted to me in 2020, as I was reporting this story, that he and his teammates made a calculus before deciding whether to see the team doctor. Is this injury bad enough that Im willing to get molested for it?

Even as Ohio State began settling lawsuits brought by survivors of Strauss in 2020, Hellickson and Jordan continued to deny they ever knew there was abuse. By this time Jordan was a Republican member of Congress representing Ohios Fourth District, an ascending political star rising in status and power.

Jordan predictably, was asked about the allegations leveled by so many of the athletes he once coached. He was defiant, referring inquiries to a statement issued by his communications director: Congressman Jordan never saw or heard of any abuse, and if he had he would have dealt with it. (Jordan did not respond to a request for comment for this story.)

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FWIW, Strauss, the team doctor, committed suicide as investigations began.

Even though the doctor is gone, those that knew and didn't say anything shouldn't be given responsibility to speak for the lawmakers of this country who pass legislation to prevent child abuse.

My old coach was a two time OSU champion and accomplished it during those times. I can't imagine the doctor trying to touch him without getting his head bashed in though. Coach was awesome but damn he had a temper.

The trauma was compounded by a sense of betrayal. Wrestler after wrestler recalled complaining about Strauss to the head coach, Russ Hellickson, and to Jim Jordan, a onetime wrestling star in Wisconsin who served as OSUs assistant coach from 1986 to 94.

Coverup, straight and simple. Even worse, there's been efforts to smear some of the victims that have had legal troubles.

i mean they are ok with everything because not a dem

Nok_Su_Kow posted...

Even though the doctor is gone, those that knew and didn't say anything shouldn't be given responsibility to speak for the lawmakers of this country who pass legislation to prevent child abuse.

Nevermind Speaker, he shouldn't be in Congress at all, IMO. That's not even getting into his shitty politics.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


Republicans.

There's your answer.

brestugo posted...

Nevermind Speaker, he shouldn't be in Congress at all, IMO. That's not even getting into his shitty politics.

He shouldn't but at least with this it's been given more scrutiny.

Nok_Su_Kow posted...

He shouldn't but at least with this it's been given more scrutiny.

I agree. Running for Speaker is going to expose all the creepy crawlies with this guy.

voldothegr8 posted...

My old coach was a two time OSU champion and accomplished it during those times. I can't imagine the doctor trying to touch him without getting his head bashed in though. Coach was awesome but damn he had a temper.

and there's the long and short of it. "wouldn't have happened because he'd bash his head in". jim jordan's comments, "I'd have snapped his neck". all come down to the idea that "you didn't successfully fight back, therefore you deserved it".

Neoconkers posted...

and there's the long and short of it. "wouldn't have happened because he'd bash his head in". jim jordan's comments, "I'd have snapped his neck". all come down to the idea that "you didn't successfully fight back, therefore you deserved it".

No, that's way out of line and some crazy head cannon on your part. I'm just saying knowing coach's personality, I find it hard to believe the doc would have tried more than once against him. I'm not saying it didn't happen or anyone deserved it if they didn't fight back, that's insane.

Just like with Nasser, I dont understand why organizations protect these men while throwing the talent under the bus.

The topic title makes no sense to me

Im really starting to believe the conspiracies that pedophiles run everything and have all the power in this world. Too much stuff like this keeps happening.

mustachedmystic posted...

Just like with Nasser, I dont understand why organizations protect these men while throwing the talent under the bus.

Makes you wonder. The coverup is sometimes just as ugly as the crime.