By Ellen J. Staurowsky, Ed.D., Senior Writer & Professor, Sport Management, Drexel University, ejs95@drexel.edu
On April 5, 2018, The Ohio State University (OSU) announced an investigation had been launched into allegations of sexual misconduct made by former athletes regarding a team doctor and sports medicine researcher, Richard Strauss. The University reported that the Columbus Division of Police and the Franklin County Attorney’s Office were notified of the allegations and a commitment secured from the state’s Bureau of Investigation through Attorney General Mike DeWine to support the effort with resources. DeWine also agreed to a request from Ohio State officials that an outside independent investigator, Bricker & Eckler LLP, be appointed to conduct a “…comprehensive investigation of each and every allegation” (Davey, 2018a, para. 3). Following that initial announcement, due to a legal conflict, Bricker & Eckler LLP stepped aside and the Ohio State AG’s Office appointed Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP, who in turn, sought the services of Perkins Coie to conduct the investigation (Davey, 2018b). Campus wide emails from Ohio State president Michael Drake in May and June of 2018 along with more targeted emails to former OSU athletes and alumni included encouragement for those with knowledge of incidents to come forward to investigators (“Strauss Investigation”, 2018).
The Allegations
In interviews with the Associated Press (2018), seven former athletes and one former nursing student shared the details of sexual misconduct they were allegedly subjected to by Richard Strauss, who worked for the OSU athletic department and student health service while serving as a faculty member from the mid-1970s through the late 1990s. The picture portrayed in the accounts is one of a man who used the intimate surroundings of medical examination rooms and locker rooms to routinely sexually abuse young men by fondling and groping them when they were in vulnerable circumstances (in need of a physical in order to compete, suffering from injury and/or illness and seeking help).
One man recalled calling Strauss late at night because the pain from an outbreak of poison ivy contracted after working outside became too much to bear. He was instructed to go directly to physician’s home. The athlete arrived to find that Strauss intended to treat him in a candle-lit bedroom with photos of naked men on the walls. Once in the bedroom, Strauss is alleged to have groped the man for several minutes before offering treatment.
Some of those interviewed spoke of the abuse they dealt with as a price that had to be paid for treatment. One described a mental exercise he constantly used to determine if he would go to get the medical attention he needed. He said he asked himself this question, “Is this injury bad enough that I’m going to get molested for it?” (Franko, Welsh-Huggins, & Seewer, 2018, n.p., para. 8). A former male nursing student related witnessing Strauss abusing the young men who were patients at an off-campus men’s clinic run by the doctor (Franko, Welsh-Huggins, & Seewer, 2018).
As more details have surfaced, the overall culture and climate surrounding the men’s athletic teams during the time under investigation has been revealed in interviews with both former athletes and coaches. Larkins Hall, opened in 1931 and originally called the Men’s Gymnasium and Natatorium, has been described as a place where male athletes were the subjects of male voyeurs, among them Dr. Strauss, older male faculty and other university employees, who gathered in the area to watch them come out of locker rooms, saunas and showers (Bade & Bresnahan, 2018; Franko, Welsh-Huggins, & Seewer, 2018; “Larkins Hall demolition…”, 2005). Commenting on the difficulties of coaching in that atmosphere, a former assistant wrestling coach described Larkins Hall as a “cesspool of deviancy” (Bade & Bresnahan, 2018, para. 8). Other interviewed athletes believed that their head coach, Russ Hellickson did report concerns to a Larkins Hall administrator and attempted to find another training facility for the team (Thompson, 2018). The Ohio State athletic director who had an 11-year tenure there from 1994-2005 confirmed in an interview that in his first year in Columbus he responded to concerns about voyeurism by working with Hellickson to move the team out of Larkins (Viebeck, 2018).
While former OSU wrestlers have so far been the ones to speak out, in reporting on the status of the investigation, the University indicated that former athletes from 13 sports, including baseball, cheerleading, cross country, fencing, football, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, and track and field shared stories of sexual abuse committed by Strauss with investigators (“Strauss Investigation”, 2018).
Questions of Coach Accountability
As the investigation continues, questions remain regarding what coaches knew about the alleged abuse and what actions they took. An anonymous wrestler interviewed by CNN attributed the removal of Strauss as the team doctor to Hellickson who the wrestler believed knew about the abuse (Thompson, 2018). All but one of the wrestlers who went on the record expressed a belief that members of the coaching staffs were well aware of the situation the wrestlers found themselves in. Although they admit that they did not refer to their treatment as sex abuse or rape when recounting incidents that occurred with Dr. Strauss, they nicknamed him “Dr. Jelly Paws” and joked about the inappropriate behavior exhibited by the doctor when they have to go see him (Associated Press, 2018). A familiar saying when wrestlers had to go see the doctor was “prepare to drop your pants” (Brennan, 2018).
The issue of coach accountability has received intensifying and highly public scrutiny following denials made by U.S. Representative (R-OH) Jim Jordan, who was an assistant coach with the team between 1984 and 1995, that he knew anything about sex abuse athletes while he was at Ohio State. The wrestlers allege that Mr. Jordan spent time with them in the sauna, locker room, training facilities, and on the road and would well have heard the reservations they expressed about Dr. Strauss (or Doc Strauss) and the way the doctor treated them (Ganim & Joseph, 2018). Considered an influential member of the U.S. House of Representatives having founded the conservative group, the Freedom Caucus and a possible candidate to replace outgoing Speaker of the House, Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI), Jordan’s claims that he had no knowledge of wrestlers being subjected to sexual abuse have been received by some of his former athletes as surprising, hurtful, and confusing (Siemaszko, 2018). Jordan later revised his position in an interview on Fox News where he commented that “conversations in a locker room are a lot different from allegations of abuse” (Brennan, 2018, para. 5).
These conflicting stories from Jordan and his former athletes are accentuated by a statement signed by former head coach Russ Hellickson and five former assistant coaches countering criticism of Jordan. They stated, “What has been said about Jim Jordan is absolutely wrong. We all worked on the wrestling coaching staff during Jim’s tenure at The Ohio State University. None of us saw or heard of abuse of OSU wrestlers… If we had heard of any abuse, we would have spoken up” (Ganim & Joseph, 2018, para. 3).
While Jordan and his supporters have sought to minimize what the athletes said in their casual conversations in the locker room, executive director of Champion Women and sexual abuse victim advocate Nancy Hogshead-Makar pointed out, “The ‘locker room talk’ about how frequently Ohio State athletes were told to drop their shorts should have protected these guys. In locker room style, these men were begging for help from leadership, and it never came” (Brennan, 2018, para. 15). To her point, a former OSU athlete observed “To be honest with you, we were the toughest guys at Ohio State, so you didn’t want to believe that something sexual in nature was happening, but you kind of knew” (Thompson, 2018). Another wrestler remarked that it was after hearing the public statements from the female victims in the Larry Nassar case that he was moved to finally speak up about what had happened at Ohio State (Associated Press, 2018).
The OSU Investigation Continues Amidst Calls for an Ethics Review of Jordan’s Conduct
As of this writing, it is unclear when the OSU investigation will wrap up and the report made available to the public. Given the exposure the case has received, there is mounting interest in knowing whether there was a cover up at Ohio State, the number of athletes who were subjected to abuse by Dr. Strauss, and what lies ahead.
For Representative Jordan, a complaint filed on July 9, 2018 with the Office of Congressional Ethics requests a review of the matter (Wertheimer & Eisen, 2018). The complaint alleges, “There is a direct and irreconcilable conflict between the public statements made by seven former Ohio State student wrestlers that Rep. Jordan knew wrestling team members were being sexually abused by the team doctor, and Rep. Jordan’s denial that he had any knowledge of the abuses. This is a very serious matter that directly reflects on the integrity of the House of Representatives as an institution and on the credibility of its Members” (Anapol, 2018).
References
Anapol, A. (2018, July 9). Ex-White House ethics chief requests probe into whether Jordan knew of alleged sexual abuse. The Hill. Retrieved from http://thehill.com/homenews/house/396070-ex-white-house-ethics-chief-files-complaint-demanding-probe-into-jim-jordan
Associated Press. (2018, July 3). Ex-wrestlers say congressman knew about alleged Ohio State sexual abuse. New York Post. Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2018/07/03/ex-wrestlers-say-congressman-knew-about-alleged-ohio-state-sex-abuse/
Bade, R. & Bresnahan, J. (2018, July 6). ‘A cesspool of deviancy’: New claims of voyeurism test Jordan denials. Politico. Retrieved from https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/06/jim-jordan-harassment-ohio-state-wrestling-699192
Baird, A. (2018, July 6). 2 more wrestlers come forward, claim Jim Jordan knew about sex abuse at Ohio State. Thinkprogress.org. Retrieved from https://thinkprogress.org/jordan-wrestlers-coming-forward-758b8ddcc70e/
Brennan, C. (2018, July 9). Jim Jordan defender: Ohio State locker room talk included ‘prepare to drop your pants’. USA Today. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/brennan/2018/07/09/jim-jordan-defender-locker-talk-included-prepare-drop-your-pants/769739002/
Davey, C. (2018a, April ). Investigation underway into allegations of sexual misconduct against former wrestling team physician. Press release. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University. Retrieved from https://news.osu.edu/news/2018/04/05/investigation-trainer/
Davey, C. (2018, May 3). Ohio State shared updates on independent investigation of allegations involving former university physician. Press release. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University. Retrieved from https://news.osu.edu/news/2018/05/03/investigation-update/
Franko, K., Welsh-Huggins, A., & Seewer, J. (2018, July 7). Ex-athletes say Ohio State doc groped, ogled men for years. APNews.com. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/355629efdd91432aadfca6d6b28c170c
Ganim, S., & Joseph, E. (2018, July 9). Former coaches come out in support of Jim Jordan amid OSU wrestling sex abuse allegations. CNN.com. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/09/us/ohio-state-university-former-wrestler/index.html
“Larkins Hall demolition begins Monday.” (2005, July 15). Press release. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University. Retrieved from https://news.osu.edu/news/2005/07/15/newsitem1175/
Siemaszko, C. (2018, July 5). More Ohio State wrestlers say Rep. Jim Jordan knew about sexual abuse when he was a coach. NBCNews.com. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fourth-ohio-state-wrestler-says-rep-jim-jordan-knew-about-n889071
Stankiewicz, K. (2018, April 5). Ohio State investigating allegations of sexual misconduct by wrestling team doctor. The Lantern. Retrieved from https://www.thelantern.com/2018/04/ohio-state-investigating-allegations-of-sexual-misconduct-by-former-wrestling-team-doctor/
“Strauss Investigation.” (2018). Website. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Office of University Compliance and Integrity. Retrieved from https://compliance.osu.edu/strauss-investigation.html
Thompson, M. (2018, July 10). Another former OSU wrestler says Jim Jordan knew about alleged abuse. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/10/us/ohio-state-university-wrestling-jim-jordan/index.html
Wertheimer, F., & Eisen, N. (2018, July 9). Complaint Re: request for preliminary ethics inquiry regarding Rep. Jim Jordan. Washington, DC: U.S. House of Representatives Office of Congressional Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.democracy21.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ethics-complaint-filed-with-OCE-regarding-Rep.-Jim-Jordan-7-9-18-p.pdf
