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Ohio State University wrestling sexual abuse scandal (1 Viewer)

squistion

squistion

Footballguy
This has been discussed over multiple pages in the Rod Rosenstein thread, but the OP refuses to change that thread title after repeated requests. I am starting a new thread so people who want to discuss this will have no problem finding it:  Article from today:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/former-wrestlers-sue-ohio-state-university-saying-school-ignored-abuse-n892011?cid=eml_nbn_20180717

Former wrestlers sue Ohio State University, saying school ignored abuse by Dr. Strauss

Coaches and administrators were “repeatedly informed” of Dr. Strauss’s serial sexual abuse, according to the complaint.

Four former wrestlers for Ohio State University have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the institution, claiming administrators knew that the team doctor, Richard Strauss, had sexually abused athletes more than 20 years ago, and did nothing to stop it.

The lawsuit alleges that male athletes involved in 14 sports were subject to “excessive and medically unnecessary fondling, touching, and groping” during routine medical examinations, echoing the claims of several former wrestlers who told their stories to NBC News in the past month. In April, Ohio State announced it had opened an investigation into alleged misconduct by Strauss, who died in 2005.

Coaches and administrators were “repeatedly informed” of Strauss’s serial sexual abuse, according to the complaint. The lawsuit alleges one student complained about Strauss to the university’s student health center in 1978, and in the mid-'90s, two wrestlers reported Strauss to then-Athletic Director Andy Geiger, while another reported the groping to former head wrestling coach Russ Hellickson.

Ohio State held a hearing on the allegations against Strauss in 1997, according to the complaint, and he was allegedly allowed to “quietly retire,” without facing disciplinary action.

Ohio State, Geiger and Hellickson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ohio State has not yet filed a formal response to the complaint.

The lawsuit is asking for undisclosed damages as well as an injunctive order that the university adopt a program to protect future student athletes.

 
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I initially thought that the statute of limitations would be a problem here (and it still might be), but apparently Ohio changed its laws a few years ago to make the statute of limitations for sexual assault cases 20-25 years.   

 
I will defend the Jim Jordan supporters somewhat, because it is absolutely worth noting that NOT ALL of the 7 accusers have claimed that they actually told Jordan about the abuse. As far as I can tell, there are only 2-3 direct accusers, while the others are in the "he should have known" category:

Direct accusations:

Dunyasha Yetts: "I went into Strauss' office and he started pulling down my wrestling shorts. I'm like, 'What the f--- are you doing?' And I went out and told Russ and Jim what happened. I was not having it. They went in and talked to Strauss."

Shawn Dailey: "I participated with Jimmy and the other wrestlers in locker-room talk about Strauss. We all did. It was very common knowledge in the locker room that if you went to Dr. Strauss for anything, you would have to pull your pants down."

unidentified wrestler: "I remember coming up and saying, 'Strauss held my balls longer than normal.' He just snickered."

--

Indirect accusations:

Mike DiSabato: "But at the end of the day, he is absolutely lying if he says he doesn't know what was going on."

Mark Coleman: "There's no way unless he's got dementia or something that he's got no recollection of what was going on at Ohio State."

unidentified wrestler: "It was a head-scratcher to me why he would say he didn’t know anything. Because it was all over the locker room."


[[However, I think it should also be noted that ex-OSU coach Russ Hellickson -- who admits to warning OSU administrators about Dr. Strauss -- has been conspicuously silent about Jordan. If Hellickson was confident that Jordan did not know, why isn't Hellickson speaking up and saying so? It would seem like such an easy thing for him to do. Just release a statement saying "I never talked about it with Jim, and I never witnessed anyone report abuse to Jim." And yet......nothing.]]

edit: see below about Hellickson

 
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Joe Summer said:
I will defend the Jim Jordan supporters somewhat, because it is absolutely worth noting that NOT ALL of the 7 accusers have claimed that they actually told Jordan about the abuse. As far as I can tell, there are only 2 direct accusers, while the others are in the "he should have known" category:

Direct accusations:
Dunyasha Yetts: "I went into Strauss' office and he started pulling down my wrestling shorts. I'm like, 'What the f--- are you doing?' And I went out and told Russ and Jim what happened. I was not having it. They went in and talked to Strauss."

Shawn Dailey: "I participated with Jimmy and the other wrestlers in locker-room talk about Strauss. We all did. It was very common knowledge in the locker room that if you went to Dr. Strauss for anything, you would have to pull your pants down."

Indirect accusations:
Mike DiSabato: "But at the end of the day, he is absolutely lying if he says he doesn't know what was going on."

Mark Coleman: "There's no way unless he's got dementia or something that he's got no recollection of what was going on at Ohio State."

unidentified wrestler: "It was a head-scratcher to me why he would say he didn’t know anything. Because it was all over the locker room."


However, I think it should also be noted that ex-OSU coach Russ Hellickson -- who admits to warning OSU administrators about Dr. Strauss -- has been conspicuously silent about Jordan. If Hellickson was confident that Jordan did not know, why isn't Hellickson speaking up and saying so? It would seem like such an easy thing for him to do. Just release a statement saying "I never talked about it with Jim, and I never witnessed anyone report abuse to Jim." And yet......nothing.
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https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/11/politics/ohio-state-former-wrestling-coach-speaks/index.html

 
Rebecca Kaplan‏Verified account @RebeccaRKaplan

Rep. Jim Jordan was interviewed Monday morning in Ohio by attorneys from Perkins Coie, who are investigating allegations of sexual abuse by Ohio State University wrestlers.

 
In a sign that Representative Jim Jordan is unlikely to shake a sexual misconduct scandal anytime soon, five former wrestlers sued Ohio State University this week, accusing university officials of knowing that a team doctor was abusing student athletes and doing nothing to stop him.

One of the lawsuits specifically mentions Mr. Jordan, Republican of Ohio, who served as the wrestling team’s assistant coach in the late 1980s and early 1990s, citing news reports that wrestlers had informed him of the abuse. Lawyers pursuing both cases say they expect to call the influential conservative as a witness.
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- Class action lawsuit against OSU filed, including allegations about JJ.

 
squistion said:
Lawrence O'Donnell‏ @Lawrence 11h11 hours ago

If you’re contributing $ to @Jim_Jordan campaign, he might try to use it for lawyers instead. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/jim-jordan-ohio-state-700578/ … via @RollingStone

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/jim-jordan-ohio-state-700578/
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I didn't know about this, which was mentioned in the linked article:

The congressman managed to contain the fallout from an eerily similar revelation last November, when one of his longtime Washington aides and protégées, Ohio state Rep. Wesley Goodman, was publicly unmasked as one of the capitol city’s most notorious sexual predators during his six years working for Jordan, stalking and abusing at least 30young conservative men he promised to “mentor.” This was huge news in Ohio, but was buried nationally beneath the daily drumbeat of Trump atrocities.
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The General said:
Wrestlers who supported Jordan also said they told him years ago. That right?
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I think many that support him say that either he didn't know or it was locker room talk.  Beyond that, this is all that I found: 

The former wrestler said he doesn't have any personal grudges against Jordan -- he supported him when he first ran for office, despite identifying as a Democrat. He remembers directly telling Jordan about Strauss' behavior.
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link

 
http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180719/jordan-suggests-left-wing-conspiracy-on-ohio-state-wrestling-charges?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=GHM_Daily_Afternoon_NL&utm_content=COLD_CD

Jordan suggests left-wing conspiracy on Ohio State wrestling charges

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Jordan suggested today those on the left “choreographed” accusations that as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State he ignored warnings from wrestlers that a team doctor engaged in inappropriate behavior with them.

During an interview Thursday with Fox News, Jordan, R-Urbana, said he found it “suspect” the charges have emerged this summer as he and Republicans are threatening to impeach Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for what they claim is his unwillingness to provide Congress with documents related to the FBI’s investigation into Democratic presidential Hillary Clinton’s e-mails.

Rosenstein last year tapped Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate accusations Russian intelligence officials interfered with the election in a way to help Trump win.

“I mean, jeepers, the way it seemed to me was sequenced and choreographed” by some on the left, Jordan said. “I find all that suspect.”

“I guess I like to think that the reason you see the left coming after me and lies being told is because we’re being effective in doing what we told the American people (what) we were doing,” Jordan said. “I also think it has something to do with the fact that President Trump is doing a great job and we are trying to support him and help him make America great again.”

 
Ilov80s said:
You think? I am sure they are looking at MSU to try to figure out exactly how not to handle the situation.
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It will be interesting to see how the OSU scandal plays out.  MSU’s sexual harassment came about during #metoo and involves creepy men preying on college women.  

The OSU scandal is groundbreaking in that it is creepy men preying on male athletes.   

 
knowledge dropper said:
It will be interesting to see how the OSU scandal plays out.  MSU’s sexual harassment came about during #metoo and involves creepy men preying on college women.  

The OSU scandal is groundbreaking in that it is creepy men preying on male athletes.   
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I don't know much but how is it different from Penn State in that regard?

 
knowledge dropper said:
It will be interesting to see how the OSU scandal plays out.  MSU’s sexual harassment came about during #metoo and involves creepy men preying on college women.  

The OSU scandal is groundbreaking in that it is creepy men preying on male athletes.   
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The further wrinkle with tOSU is that the villain is gone.  Sandusky and Nassar were easy enemies to identify. 

 
knowledge dropper said:
OSU is hoping this is Jim Jordan’s scsndal rather than 20+ years of institutionalized sodomy.  That would save them a TON of money. 
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That is an incorrect characterization of what happened. I have seen no reports of acts of sodomy by the coach in question. Ex-wrestlers have alleged sexual abuse in the form of groping and sexual harassment, neither of which are considered acts of sodomy.

 
squistion said:
That is an incorrect characterization of what happened. I have seen no reports of acts of sodomy by the coach in question. Ex-wrestlers have alleged sexual abuse in the form of groping and sexual harassment, neither of which are considered acts of sodomy.
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He didn't claim that's what happened on THE Ohio State University

 
Ramblin Wreck said:
Almost positive he's talking about Michigan State.  And saying he hopes Ohio State isn't like Michigan State and is just one dirtbag coach instead of a big ### coverup.  
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Nope, pretty clear he is talking about OSU. MSU was mentioned for the first time in response to this:
 

48 minutes ago, knowledge dropper said:

OSU is hoping this is Jim Jordan’s scsndal rather than 20+ years of institutionalized sodomy.  That would save them a TON of money. 
Click to expand...

 
Ilov80s said:
I don't know much but how is it different from Penn State in that regard?
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Penn State was a pedophile.   OSU so far has not stopped to that level.  However, there are rumors that there will be reports of high school boys getting these lengthy and handsy exams during summer sports camps.  All bets are off if that happened.  

 
squistion said:
That is an incorrect characterization of what happened. I have seen no reports of acts of sodomy by the coach in question. Ex-wrestlers have alleged sexual abuse in the form of groping and sexual harassment, neither of which are considered acts of sodomy.
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You are only focusing on Jordan and him allegedly not reporting these predators 25 years ago.  Read up on the stories that are coming out about Larkins Hall during that era.  

 
Politically speaking, I am not a fan of Jim Jordan, to say the least. Nevertheless, I have the tiniest bit of sympathy for him in this respect: What all of the various sex abuse scandals (Nassar, Sandusky, Weinstein, etc) have showed is that there has been a society-wide failure to address these problems. Lots and lots of people "knew" these things were going on, but no one knew. (There is probably an interesting psychological explanation for why this happens, especially given how widespread the phenomenon is. My guess is it's some combination of the predators' ability to manipulate their enablers along with most people's desire to avoid a distasteful subject). 

So now we look back with 20/20 hindsight and we fixate on a few people who were in positions of authority in order to expiate our collective sins of omission. Of course -- and I can't emphasize this point strongly enough -- that doesn't mean that those individuals should be let off the hook, especially if they were particularly negligent. But if Jordan had come out and said, "I heard lots of rumors, but to my eternal shame and regret, I didn't do enough to stop it," it might not have totally excused his behavior, but it would have been a very human answer.

Now, here's where my sympathy for him ends: He didn't make that statement or anything like that. Instead he is blatantly lying and attacking the very people who were abused. Maybe he thinks any admission of wrongdoing would be politically ruinous. Maybe he is so used to attributing everything to deep state conspiracies that he automatically applied that template here. Heck, maybe he's blocked out the whole experience in his own mind and is convinced he's telling the truth. Whatever, he's taken a situation where his behavior was worthy of criticism but still understandable and turned it into one where he's beneath contempt.

 
zftcg said:
Now, here's where my sympathy for him ends: He didn't make that statement or anything like that. Instead he is blatantly lying and attacking the very people who were abused. Maybe he thinks any admission of wrongdoing would be politically ruinous. Maybe he is so used to attributing everything to deep state conspiracies that he automatically applied that template here. Heck, maybe he's blocked out the whole experience in his own mind and is convinced he's telling the truth. Whatever, he's taken a situation where his behavior was worthy of criticism but still understandable and turned it into one where he's beneath contempt.
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Apologies. That should have been "THE deep state conspiracies".

 
Nancy Pelosi on the motivation to impeach Rosenstein:

"I don't know, but what I've heard is Jim Jordan wants to take attention away from the scrutiny that he is under in Ohio, that could be a part of it."

 
squistion said:
Nancy Pelosi on the motivation to impeach Rosenstein:

"I don't know, but what I've heard is Jim Jordan wants to take attention away from the scrutiny that he is under in Ohio, that could be a part of it."
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I think Jordan is idiotic and craven enough to have filed the impeachment independent of his own problems. He and Meadows were threatening it for ages.

 
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/07/ohio-state-sexual-abuse-scandal-jim-jordan-implausibly-says-he-and-others-didnt-know.html

Jim Jordan, Team Player

He denies that his Ohio State colleagues knew about sexual abuse. The evidence says they did.

[...]

Jordan’s story centers on Ohio State University, where he worked as the assistant wrestling coach in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Former students say that during those years, OSU coaches and administrators ignored reports of sexual abuse and harassment by the wrestling team’s doctor and other faculty members. For weeks, Jordan has denied that he knew about inappropriate sexual behavior of any kind. That contradicts statements from former students who say he was directly informed. But now Jordan is going further. He’s denying not just that he knew about abuse, but also that other coaches or administrators did.

On July 18, Jordan told Bob Frantz, a radio host in Ohio, that “all kinds of coaches … have said the same thing I’ve said, and the reason they’ve said that is because it’s the truth: No one reported anything to us.” The next day, on Fox News, Jordan added: “I knew of no abuse, never heard of it, never had any reported to me. If I had, I’d have dealt with it. Every single coach has said the same thing I have. … And the reason they have all said it is because it’s the truth.” On Friday, Jordan told WMAL radio in Washington that “all the coaches I coached with” were innocent. That same day, on Fox and Friends, Jordan issued a comprehensive denial:

This is something that supposedly happened 30 years ago. If there in fact was abuse, then we want people to get justice, and the truth to come out. But there were hundreds of coaches, hundreds of administrators in that time period. No one ever reported any. Certainly no one reported it to me.
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This is hardly the first time that leaders of respected institutions—Congress, churches, universities—have closed ranks against accusations of sexual abuse. But by escalating his denials, Jordan is exposing himself to ever greater legal and political jeopardy. He has already attacked several of his former student wrestlers, calling them liars and rejecting the possibility that they told him of anything that might be perceived, in retrospect, as abuse. Now, in addition, he’s pitting his credibility against former students who say they reported abuse to other OSU coaches or administrators.

Jordan has specifically defended Russ Hellickson, the former head wrestling coach with whom he worked at OSU. Three weeks ago, Jordan and his supporters released a statement from six former OSU coaches in Jordan’s defense. Hellickson topped the list. “None of us saw or heard of abuse of OSU wrestlers,” said the statement. A blurb from Hellickson added: “At no time while Jim Jordan was a coach with me at Ohio State did either of us ignore abuse of our wrestlers.”

Hellickson has been recorded on video saying that the team doctor, Richard Strauss, was too “hands on” with student wrestlers, that Strauss made the students “nervous” by showering with them for an hour at a time, and that Hellickson told OSU administrators about the problem. Three weeks ago, Hellickson told USA Today that he had warned Strauss to stop touching students excessively during weigh-ins. Politico reports that according to witnesses, shower voyeurism of the athletes became so invasive that Hellickson had to “physically drag the gawkers out of the building.” According to the article, Hellickson “pleaded with the university multiple times to move their athletes to a private facility.”

Andy Geiger, who was OSU’s athletic director at the time, confirms that Hellickson complainedabout voyeurism in the showers. Geiger told the Washington Post that to solve the problem, he worked with Hellickson to move the wrestlers out of the building. Geiger says that the students felt “uncomfortable” and that he had sought to make sure they would “be left alone and feel secure and not harassed or observed or approached.”  [...]

 
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/former-ohio-state-wrestling-coach-urged-rep-jim-jordan-s-n896551?cid=eml_nbn_20180801

Former Ohio State wrestling coach urged Rep. Jim Jordan's accusers to recant, texts show

Former coach Russ Hellickson told wrestlers he could help them release a statement in support of Jordan, according to texts shared with NBC News.

Retired Ohio State wrestling coach Russ Hellickson reached out to two ex-team members and asked them to support their former assistant coach, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a day after they accused the powerful congressman of turning a blind eye to alleged sexual abuse by the team doctor, according to the wrestlers and text messages they shared with NBC News.

The former wrestlers said their ex-coach made it clear to them he was under pressure from Jordan to get statements of support from members of the team.

Hellickson’s appeal to help Jordan came after the congressman repeatedly said that he had no idea that team doctor Richard Strauss was allegedly molesting the athletes — contradicting three wrestlers who told NBC News that Jordan must have known since the abuse was frequently discussed in the locker room.

“I’m sorry you got caught up in the media train,” Hellickson wrote in a July 4 text to Dunyasha Yetts that the former wrestler shared with NBC News. “If you think the story got told wrong about Jim, you could probably write a statement for release that tells your story and corrects what you feel bad about. I can put you in contact with someone who would release it.”

In an NBC article published a day earlier, Yetts recounted how Strauss had tried to pull his shorts down when he went to see him for a thumb injury. Yetts said he told Jordan and Hellickson about what happened and insisted they intervene — an account that was later corroborated by another former Ohio State wrestler who said he had witnessed the conversation.

Yetts said Hellickson also called him later on July 4 and said he was under pressure from Jordan, who was an assistant wrestling coach at the university from 1986 to 1994, and from Jordan's supporters to make “a bold statement to defend Jimmy.”

“He said, 'I will defend Jimmy until I have to put my hand on a Bible and be asked to tell the truth, then Jimmy will be on his own,'” Yetts said in an interview this week, recalling his conversation with Hellickson. “I told him, 'I’m going to contradict you, coach, because I’m telling the truth.'”

[...]

 
Ramblin Wreck said:
Urban Meyer is political?
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SaintsInDome thinks so and it is arguable. The wrestling scandal involves an alleged coverup of known sexual abuse. Meyer is accused of overlooking known domestic abuse of an assistant.

The #MeToo movement was about sexual abuse, that was political, no?

 
squistion said:
SaintsInDome thinks so and it is arguable. The wrestling scandal involves an alleged coverup of known sexual abuse. Meyer is accused of overlooking known domestic abuse of an assistant.

The #MeToo movement was about sexual abuse, that was political, no?
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SID thinks this is political?

And LOL a football coach getting suspended for covering up domestic violence and about to get fired isn't political

 
Ramblin Wreck said:
SID thinks this is political?
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He probably does as he posted it in this thread. And the #MeToo movement is arguably political, no? (See Weinstein and Cosby threads). Let's let SID weigh on this as to his thoughts on the subject.

Perhaps we could start a separate ***Official #MeToo Urban Meyer OSU Thread*** if you don't think it should be included here.

 
squistion said:
He probably does as he posted it in this thread. And the #MeToo movement is arguably political, no? (See Weinstein and Cosby threads). Let's let SID weigh on this as to his thoughts on the subject.

Perhaps we could start a separate ***Official #MeToo Urban Meyer OSU Thread*** if you don't think it should be included here.
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Isn't MeToo Sexual assault?   Which does not apply to this at all?  

HellToupee said:
2 threads now talking about this in the ffa and now one in the squistion forum
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Pretty much.  Just waiting for 12 tweets to flood the thread now

 
Ramblin Wreck said:
Isn't MeToo Sexual assault?   Which does not apply to this at all?  
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Talk to knowledge dropper. He started a MeToo thread in this forum that ran 23 pages. So, arguably, the mods think the subject matter belongs in this forum:

https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/topic/764849-metoo-movement/#comment-20833275

Plus there is a Harvey Weinstein thread in this forum, the mods were OK with that for some reason:

https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/topic/761394-the-harvey-weinstein-scandal/#comment-20501386

Plus a Bill Cosby thread that apparently was political enough to be allowed here:

https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/topic/766129-bill-cosby-picked-a-bad-time-to-go-on-trial/#comment-21007935

 
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