Lawsuit Alleges Jim Jordan Ignored OSU Sexual Abuse
U.S. Congressman Jim Jordan speaking at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. (Gage Skidmore)
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is most known for being one of President Trump’s chief defenders in the House, but there is a scandal that hasn’t gotten enough attention. A new lawsuit alleges that Jordan knew of more instances of Ohio State University doctor Richard Strauss’ sexual abuse and ignored it. NBC News reported:
A professional referee says in a lawsuit filed Thursday that disgraced doctor Richard Strauss masturbated in front of him in a shower after a wrestling match at Ohio State University, and he reported the encounter directly to Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who was then the assistant coach.
“Yeah, that’s Strauss,” Jordan and then-head coach Russ Hellickson replied, according to the lawsuit, when the referee, identified in court papers as John Doe 42, told them about the incident. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Ohio, implies that Jordan’s response to the incident, which the referee said happened in 1994, was essentially a shrug.
John Doe 42 is the second person to say he told Jordan directly about either being approached or molested by Strauss, who was found by independent investigators to have sexually abused 177 male students over two decades.
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The lawsuit was filed by 43 survivors against Ohio State, claiming the university’s “ingrained culture of institutional indifference” enabled Strauss to sexually abuse former students and athletes from a half-dozen other sports.
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Before this lawsuit, there were at least eight ex-OSU wrestlers who had come forward—including UFC fighter star Mark Coleman—alleging that then-Assistant Coach Jordan was directly made aware of the allegations that medical doctor Richard Strauss was sexually abusing wrestlers, and ignored their reports of abuse. Here’s the allegation from the eighth wrestler:
The ex-wrestler, who chose to make his allegation anonymously, said that he had personally told Jordan, “Strauss held my balls longer than normal,” and that Jordan “just snickered.” He further recalled telling Jordan “something to the effect of ‘his hands are cold as s**t; he checked out every hair on my ball,’” and the assistant coach replying, “I have nothing to do with this,” and then walking away.
Jordan himself has changed his story, first claiming no knowledge, and then claiming that “conversations in a locker room” aren’t the same as formally reporting abuse. Undercutting those claims, TPM reported that the head coach Jordan worked for, was aware of the allegations.
Like they’ve done with most of the alleged abusers in their party, including the president, Republicans have stood behind Rep. Jordan. As news of this new lawsuit spread, House Republicans were reportedly set to announce that they are assigning Jim Jordan to the House Intelligence Committee, which has been running the impeachment inquiry.
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