An Ohio State Doctor Abused Student Wrestlers — And This Congressman Knew

For victims of sexual abuse, the experience is often one of the most traumatic moments in their lives. But for Republican congressman Jim Jordan, it's barely worth a shrug of his shoulders.

Jordan, who was the assistant coach for the Ohio State University wrestling team between 1984 to 1994, has been accused of lying or even covering up the fact that he was aware of sexual abuse involving the university team's doctor, Richard Strauss.

According to at least three former wrestlers, Strauss, who served as the team's doctor from the mid-1970s to the late 90s, regularly forced wrestlers to take showers with him and touched them inappropriately during checkups.

For his part, Jordan says he had no idea the students were being abused by the doctor even though his boss and mentor, head coach Russ Hellickson, has admitted to warning Strauss that he was being too "hands on."

Multiple students also remember telling Jordan about Strauss's abuses. One former wrestler, Dunyasha Yetts, says after one incident in which Dr. Stauss tried to pull down his pants, he went straight to Hellickson and Jordan. In response, Jordan said "he'd kill him if he tried anything with him."

Decades after the abuse, when one former wrestler called Jordan to tell him he was going public with the allegations, did the congressman stand up and say he would do anything to help right this wrong? No, instead he asked the victim to "leave him out of it" and that was the end of the story.

The recent accusations are troublingly similar to the Penn State sexual abuse case involving assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky and, most recently, the USA Gymnastics sexual abuse scandal that ended in Dr. Larry Nassar receiving a 40 to 175-year sentence.

While Ohio State University launches its investigation, one thing is clear, Rep. Jim Jordan has lost his moral authority to serve and should resign immediately.

There is no excuse for turning a blind eye to abuse and those who do deserve to be shunned and punished.

Sign the petition and tell Rep. Jim Jordan he needs to go. Tell him to resign.
Update #34 years ago
A referee’s come forward claiming that he reported sexual misconduct to Jim Jordan, but he brushed the accusations off. This is just the latest accusation against Jordan and his failure to take action against the sexual predator coach. It’s time this enabler resign. Please share this petition to keep up the pressure.
Update #15 years ago
Over 100 former Ohio State students have given sexual abuse accounts against former school doctor Richard Strauss. Please share this petition to keep the pressure on.
Sign Petition
Sign Petition
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.

Privacy Policy

By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.

Having problems signing this? Let us know.