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Ohio State Sexual Abuse Scandal

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OSU football players allege abuse on, off campus

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/26774872/osu-football-players-allege-abuse-campus

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An attorney preparing a lawsuit against Ohio State University on behalf of more than 50 former athletes who allege they were sexually abused by a team physician told The Associated Press on Saturday that most of his clients were football players from the Buckeyes' storied program, including some who went on to play in the NFL.

Dayton attorney Michael Wright said the abuse happened during required physical examinations at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and during treatment for injuries and ailments at Dr. Richard Strauss' off-campus clinic and at his home, where he insisted they be seen.

Strauss killed himself in 2005, nearly a decade after he was allowed to retire with honors.

A 232-page investigative report released Friday found that Strauss had sexually abused at least 177 male students, but the report made only one specific reference to football players while listing how many athletes from each team were abused. That list says three football players were interviewed.

Wright said he was not aware that any of his clients were interviewed by investigators from the Seattle-based Perkins Coie law firm.

An Ohio State spokesman declined to comment.

Investigators found that Strauss' abuse went on from 1979-1997 and took place at various locations across campus, including examining rooms, locker rooms, showers and saunas. Strauss contrived, among other things, to get young men to strip naked, and he groped them sexually.

The report concluded that scores of Ohio State personnel knew of complaints and concerns about Strauss' conduct as early as 1979 but failed for years to investigate or take meaningful action.

"It was known he was seeing these athletes and there were issues," Wright said.

Wright said he plans to file the lawsuit late next week and, for now, that his clients prefer to remain anonymous.

"Clearly they had good relationships with the university, and they believe the university will either retaliate or significantly distance themselves from these athletes," Wright said.

Some of Strauss' victims remain angry in the aftermath of the report's release about how Ohio State has treated them in the decades after he ogled and groped them during physical examinations and medical treatment.

Former nursing student Brian Garrett said he worked for a short time at an off-campus clinic Strauss opened after he was ousted at Ohio State in the late 1990s. But Garrett quit after witnessing abuse by Strauss and then experiencing it himself.

The investigation, he said, left him angrier than before.

"We knew that it was systemic and it had been reported," Garrett said Friday. "It's even more widespread than we knew."

Garrett thinks the abuse carried out by Strauss across more than a dozen sports and at numerous locations even surpasses that of Larry Nassar, of Michigan State University, who was accused of molesting at least 250 women and girls and is serving what amounts to a life sentence.

"We did not get to put him on trial. The police did not get to investigate. That's why it's worse than the MSU case," Garrett said. "He took the easy way out."

No one has publicly defended Strauss, though family members have said they were shocked by the allegations.

The whistleblower credited with prompting the investigation said in a statement he feels "vindicated" but has mixed feelings about the law firm's findings.

Mike DiSabato, a former Ohio State wrestler, met with school officials in March 2018 to discuss the abuse that he and other athletes had suffered at the hands of Strauss, prompting the school to hire Perkins Coie to conduct an investigation.

"Although a weight has been lifted off my back, I am deeply saddened to hear and relive the stories of so many others who suffered similar abuse by Dr. Strauss while Ohio State turned a blind eye," DiSabato's statement said.

He says the Perkins Coie report gives him "courage and strength to keep fighting to ensure Ohio State is held accountable for the damage and trauma they caused me and my family."

Ohio State president Michael Drake said there was a "consistent institutional failure" at the school, the nation's third-largest university. He apologized and commended victims for their courage.

The lawsuits against Ohio State are headed for mediation. They seek unspecified damages. Drake said the investigation alone has cost the school $6.2 million.

Separately, the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights is examining whether Ohio State responded promptly and fairly to students' complaints. The department could cut the university's federal funding if it is found to have violated civil rights protections.


Ohio St. leaders know of former doctor's abuse
http://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/26767786/ohio-st-leaders-knew-former-doctor-abuse

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/26767786/ohio-st-leaders-knew-former-doctor-abuse

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A now-dead Ohio State team doctor sexually abused at least 177 male students from the 1970s through the 1990s, and numerous university officials got wind of what was going on over the years but did little or nothing to stop him, according to a report released by the school Friday.

Dr. Richard Strauss groped or ogled young men while treating athletes from at least 16 sports and working at the student health center and his off-campus clinic, investigators from a law firm hired by the university found.

"We are so sorry that this happened," Ohio State president Michael Drake said at a news conference, using words like "shocking," "horrifying" and "heartbreaking" to describe the findings.

He said there was a "consistent institutional failure" at Ohio State, the nation's third-largest university with nearly 65,000 students and a half-million living alumni. The school "fell short of its responsibility to its students, and that's regrettable and inexcusable," he said.

At the same time, Drake, who has led the institution since 2014, sought to distance Ohio State from what happened more than two decades ago, saying, "This is not the university of today."

The report on Strauss, who killed himself at age 67 in 2005 nearly a decade after he was allowed to retire with honors, could cost Ohio State dearly by corroborating lawsuits brought against it by a multitude of victims. Perkins Coie, the law firm hired to conduct the investigation for the school, interviewed hundreds of former students and university employees.

The findings put Strauss in a league with gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar of Michigan State University, who was accused of molesting at least 250 women and girls and is serving what amounts to a life sentence. Michigan State ultimately settled with his victims for $500 million.

Similarly, the Jerry Sandusky child sexual-abuse scandal that brought down legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in 2011 has cost the university more than a quarter-billion dollars in settlements, fines, legal costs and other expenses.

The abuse at Ohio State went on from 1979 to 1997 and took place at various locations across campus, including examining rooms, locker rooms, showers and saunas, according to investigators.

Of the 177 men, 145 were identified as athletes from a list of sports that includes wrestling, gymnastics, swimming and diving, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, track and field, baseball, cross country, fencing, volleyball, tennis, football, cheerleading and golf.

Strauss, among other things, contrived to get young men to strip naked and groped them sexually.

The report describes one patient who came in with strep throat. Strauss spent five minutes fondling his genitals and never examined another part of the body. Another victim had grown up in a rural area and had never had a proper medical exam; Strauss put a stethoscope on his penis.

Many told investigators that they thought his behavior was an "open secret" and that they believed their coaches, trainers and other team doctors knew was going on. The students described the examinations as being "hazed" or going through a "rite of passage." Athletes joked about Strauss' behavior, referring to him with nicknames such as "Dr. Jelly Paws."

The report concluded that scores of Ohio State personnel knew of complaints and concerns about Strauss' conduct as early as 1979 but failed for years to investigate or take meaningful action.

Ohio State Provost Bruce McPheron said the report does not address whether anyone went to law enforcement at the time or was required to do so under the law back then.

In the wake of the findings, some of Strauss' victims called on the university to take responsibility for its inaction and the harm inflicted by the doctor.

"Dreams were broken, relationships with loved ones were damaged, and the harm now carries over to our children, as many of us have become so overprotective that it strains the relationship with our kids," Kent Kilgore said in a statement.

Steve Estey, an attorney for some of the former students who are suing, said: "If OSU refuses to take responsibility we will continue with civil litigation and put this in front of a jury for 12 people to judge their actions."

No one has publicly defended Strauss, though family members have said they were shocked by the allegations.

At least 50 members of the athletic department staff, including many coaches, corroborated victims' accounts of Strauss' abuse, the report said. But students' allegations never left the department or the health center until 1996.

At that point, Strauss was investigated and let go as a team doctor and physician at the health center but was allowed to retain his tenured faculty position.

Investigators said Strauss set up an off-campus clinic within months, receiving assurances from the associate vice president of health sciences and academic affairs that "there would be no issue" with him engaging in part-time private practice while on the faculty. The abuse continued there.

He continued to plead for his job back as an on-campus doctor, finally going to then-president Gordon Gee with a letter in 1997. His pleas were rejected, at which point Strauss was allowed to retire with emeritus status, a mark of honor. Gee, now president of West Virginia University, said Friday he has no recollection of Strauss.

Former nursing student Brian Garrett said he briefly did administrative work at the off-campus clinic but stopped after witnessing abuse by Strauss and then experiencing it himself.

"I thought all along he hid that from the university," Garrett said. "Now I find out they actually knew about the off-campus clinic, are you kidding me?" He added: "I'm mad. I thought I was mad before."

The lawsuits against Ohio State are headed for mediation. The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages. Drake said the investigation alone has cost the school $6.2 million.

Separately, the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights is examining whether Ohio State responded promptly and fairly to students' complaints. The department could cut the university's federal funding if it is found to have violated civil rights protections.

Before Friday's release, the doctor's accusers had alleged that Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan was one of the coaches who was aware of suspicions about Strauss and didn't stop him. Jordan, an assistant wrestling coach from 1987 to 1995, was not mentioned by name in the report, and a spokesman for him said the document showed the congressman did not know about the abuse.

 
OSU football players allege abuse on, off campus

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/26774872/osu-football-players-allege-abuse-campus

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An attorney preparing a lawsuit against Ohio State University on behalf of more than 50 former athletes who allege they were sexually abused by a team physician told The Associated Press on Saturday that most of his clients were football players from the Buckeyes' storied program, including some who went on to play in the NFL.

Dayton attorney Michael Wright said the abuse happened during required physical examinations at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and during treatment for injuries and ailments at Dr. Richard Strauss' off-campus clinic and at his home, where he insisted they be seen.

Strauss killed himself in 2005, nearly a decade after he was allowed to retire with honors.

A 232-page investigative report released Friday found that Strauss had sexually abused at least 177 male students, but the report made only one specific reference to football players while listing how many athletes from each team were abused. That list says three football players were interviewed.

Wright said he was not aware that any of his clients were interviewed by investigators from the Seattle-based Perkins Coie law firm.

An Ohio State spokesman declined to comment.

Investigators found that Strauss' abuse went on from 1979-1997 and took place at various locations across campus, including examining rooms, locker rooms, showers and saunas. Strauss contrived, among other things, to get young men to strip naked, and he groped them sexually.

The report concluded that scores of Ohio State personnel knew of complaints and concerns about Strauss' conduct as early as 1979 but failed for years to investigate or take meaningful action.

"It was known he was seeing these athletes and there were issues," Wright said.

Wright said he plans to file the lawsuit late next week and, for now, that his clients prefer to remain anonymous.

"Clearly they had good relationships with the university, and they believe the university will either retaliate or significantly distance themselves from these athletes," Wright said.

Some of Strauss' victims remain angry in the aftermath of the report's release about how Ohio State has treated them in the decades after he ogled and groped them during physical examinations and medical treatment.

Former nursing student Brian Garrett said he worked for a short time at an off-campus clinic Strauss opened after he was ousted at Ohio State in the late 1990s. But Garrett quit after witnessing abuse by Strauss and then experiencing it himself.

The investigation, he said, left him angrier than before.

"We knew that it was systemic and it had been reported," Garrett said Friday. "It's even more widespread than we knew."

Garrett thinks the abuse carried out by Strauss across more than a dozen sports and at numerous locations even surpasses that of Larry Nassar, of Michigan State University, who was accused of molesting at least 250 women and girls and is serving what amounts to a life sentence.

"We did not get to put him on trial. The police did not get to investigate. That's why it's worse than the MSU case," Garrett said. "He took the easy way out."

No one has publicly defended Strauss, though family members have said they were shocked by the allegations.

The whistleblower credited with prompting the investigation said in a statement he feels "vindicated" but has mixed feelings about the law firm's findings.

Mike DiSabato, a former Ohio State wrestler, met with school officials in March 2018 to discuss the abuse that he and other athletes had suffered at the hands of Strauss, prompting the school to hire Perkins Coie to conduct an investigation.

"Although a weight has been lifted off my back, I am deeply saddened to hear and relive the stories of so many others who suffered similar abuse by Dr. Strauss while Ohio State turned a blind eye," DiSabato's statement said.

He says the Perkins Coie report gives him "courage and strength to keep fighting to ensure Ohio State is held accountable for the damage and trauma they caused me and my family."

Ohio State president Michael Drake said there was a "consistent institutional failure" at the school, the nation's third-largest university. He apologized and commended victims for their courage.

The lawsuits against Ohio State are headed for mediation. They seek unspecified damages. Drake said the investigation alone has cost the school $6.2 million.

Separately, the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights is examining whether Ohio State responded promptly and fairly to students' complaints. The department could cut the university's federal funding if it is found to have violated civil rights protections.


Ohio St. leaders know of former doctor's abuse
http://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/26767786/ohio-st-leaders-knew-former-doctor-abuse

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A now-dead Ohio State team doctor sexually abused at least 177 male students from the 1970s through the 1990s, and numerous university officials got wind of what was going on over the years but did little or nothing to stop him, according to a report released by the school Friday.

Dr. Richard Strauss groped or ogled young men while treating athletes from at least 16 sports and working at the student health center and his off-campus clinic, investigators from a law firm hired by the university found.

"We are so sorry that this happened," Ohio State president Michael Drake said at a news conference, using words like "shocking," "horrifying" and "heartbreaking" to describe the findings.

He said there was a "consistent institutional failure" at Ohio State, the nation's third-largest university with nearly 65,000 students and a half-million living alumni. The school "fell short of its responsibility to its students, and that's regrettable and inexcusable," he said.

At the same time, Drake, who has led the institution since 2014, sought to distance Ohio State from what happened more than two decades ago, saying, "This is not the university of today."

The report on Strauss, who killed himself at age 67 in 2005 nearly a decade after he was allowed to retire with honors, could cost Ohio State dearly by corroborating lawsuits brought against it by a multitude of victims. Perkins Coie, the law firm hired to conduct the investigation for the school, interviewed hundreds of former students and university employees.

The findings put Strauss in a league with gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar of Michigan State University, who was accused of molesting at least 250 women and girls and is serving what amounts to a life sentence. Michigan State ultimately settled with his victims for $500 million.

Similarly, the Jerry Sandusky child sexual-abuse scandal that brought down legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in 2011 has cost the university more than a quarter-billion dollars in settlements, fines, legal costs and other expenses.

The abuse at Ohio State went on from 1979 to 1997 and took place at various locations across campus, including examining rooms, locker rooms, showers and saunas, according to investigators.

Of the 177 men, 145 were identified as athletes from a list of sports that includes wrestling, gymnastics, swimming and diving, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, track and field, baseball, cross country, fencing, volleyball, tennis, football, cheerleading and golf.

Strauss, among other things, contrived to get young men to strip naked and groped them sexually.

The report describes one patient who came in with strep throat. Strauss spent five minutes fondling his genitals and never examined another part of the body. Another victim had grown up in a rural area and had never had a proper medical exam; Strauss put a stethoscope on his penis.

Many told investigators that they thought his behavior was an "open secret" and that they believed their coaches, trainers and other team doctors knew was going on. The students described the examinations as being "hazed" or going through a "rite of passage." Athletes joked about Strauss' behavior, referring to him with nicknames such as "Dr. Jelly Paws."

The report concluded that scores of Ohio State personnel knew of complaints and concerns about Strauss' conduct as early as 1979 but failed for years to investigate or take meaningful action.

Ohio State Provost Bruce McPheron said the report does not address whether anyone went to law enforcement at the time or was required to do so under the law back then.

In the wake of the findings, some of Strauss' victims called on the university to take responsibility for its inaction and the harm inflicted by the doctor.

"Dreams were broken, relationships with loved ones were damaged, and the harm now carries over to our children, as many of us have become so overprotective that it strains the relationship with our kids," Kent Kilgore said in a statement.

Steve Estey, an attorney for some of the former students who are suing, said: "If OSU refuses to take responsibility we will continue with civil litigation and put this in front of a jury for 12 people to judge their actions."

No one has publicly defended Strauss, though family members have said they were shocked by the allegations.

At least 50 members of the athletic department staff, including many coaches, corroborated victims' accounts of Strauss' abuse, the report said. But students' allegations never left the department or the health center until 1996.

At that point, Strauss was investigated and let go as a team doctor and physician at the health center but was allowed to retain his tenured faculty position.

Investigators said Strauss set up an off-campus clinic within months, receiving assurances from the associate vice president of health sciences and academic affairs that "there would be no issue" with him engaging in part-time private practice while on the faculty. The abuse continued there.

He continued to plead for his job back as an on-campus doctor, finally going to then-president Gordon Gee with a letter in 1997. His pleas were rejected, at which point Strauss was allowed to retire with emeritus status, a mark of honor. Gee, now president of West Virginia University, said Friday he has no recollection of Strauss.

Former nursing student Brian Garrett said he briefly did administrative work at the off-campus clinic but stopped after witnessing abuse by Strauss and then experiencing it himself.

"I thought all along he hid that from the university," Garrett said. "Now I find out they actually knew about the off-campus clinic, are you kidding me?" He added: "I'm mad. I thought I was mad before."

The lawsuits against Ohio State are headed for mediation. The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages. Drake said the investigation alone has cost the school $6.2 million.

Separately, the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights is examining whether Ohio State responded promptly and fairly to students' complaints. The department could cut the university's federal funding if it is found to have violated civil rights protections.

Before Friday's release, the doctor's accusers had alleged that Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan was one of the coaches who was aware of suspicions about Strauss and didn't stop him. Jordan, an assistant wrestling coach from 1987 to 1995, was not mentioned by name in the report, and a spokesman for him said the document showed the congressman did not know about the abuse.

Holy shit. That is terrible.

How is his stuff not reported? He put a stethoscope on some kids' dick for a strep throat case.* That isn't normal or even remotely defendable.

This goes to show how complicated and pervasive abuse can be if the abuser is protected as a measure to protect the institution.

We are used to seeing reports of abuse from people who are vulnerable, namely women and children. And here we have 177 male college athletes, big strong guys who could have literally broken the guy's neck for touching them like that, who are just as powerless when a blind eye is turned by those in positions of power.

MSU, OSU, PSU, What the fuck, Big Ten?

We need to do better as a society and throw the administrators into the same dark pit we throw the molesters in.




*Much like @Deezus' backdoor pulse check. @The Oi
 
Holy shit. That is terrible.

How is his stuff not reported? He put a stethoscope on some kids' dick for a strep throat case.* That isn't normal or even remotely defendable.

This goes to show how complicated and pervasive abuse can be if the abuser is protected as a measure to protect the institution.

We are used to seeing reports of abuse from people who are vulnerable, namely women and children. And here we have 177 male college athletes, big strong guys who could have literally broken the guy's neck for touching them like that, who are just as powerless when a blind eye is turned by those in positions of power.

MSU, OSU, PSU, What the fuck, Big Ten?

We need to do better as a society and throw the administrators into the same dark pit we throw the molesters in.




*Much like @Deezus' backdoor pulse check. @The Oi

We had to do it in @Deezus case bc it was a persistent pulse and in his case he actually demanded it be done after being turned down multiple times by email, phone and in person by myself and my administrative staff. His insurance company was billed for it and they have yet to pay.

Now with all that being said, the questions about my having checked it without having any medical credentials whatsoever is a valid question.
 
We had to do it in @Deezus case bc it was a persistent pulse and in his case he actually demanded it be done after being turned down multiple times by email, phone and in person by myself and my administrative staff. His insurance company was billed for it and they have yet to pay.

Now with all that being said, the questions about my having checked it without having any medical credentials whatsoever is a valid question.
@Deezus says the pulse is back and is cumming in for His weekly checkup tomorrow.
 

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