Ohio State University closes dark chapter: agreed to pay $100 million to victims of sexual abuse by university doctor

Ohio State University closed a dark chapter in its history after agreeing to pay $100 million to 279 former students who claimed they were sexually assaulted by Dr. Richard Strauss, a campus doctor who abused athletes and students for more than two decades. The settlement ended a legal battle that spanned eight years.

Only one of the 280 former students who were part of the five active federal lawsuits against the institution did not sign the settlement, the university and plaintiffs' lawyers confirmed in a joint statement.

In the coming weeks, a special court-appointed arbitrator will interview each of those involved to determine the level of damage suffered and the individual amount each victim will receive.

University President Ravi Bellamkonda announced the settlement Wednesday before the university board.

“The survivors of the Strauss abuse are all Buckeyes,” he said. “We continue to be very grateful to them for their courage in coming forward, and reaching a final resolution is very important to us and is an important step forward.”

The Dr. Strauss case is one of the most serious sex abuse scandals in the history of Americane college athletics. An independent investigation commissioned by Ohio State from the law firm Perkins Coie concluded in 2019 that Strauss sexually assaulted at least 177 male athletes and other students between the mid-1970s and late 1990s. According to the report, one of the most serious details is that coaches and administrators were aware of the abuse for two decades but took no action to stop it. Strauss died by suicide in 2005.

Wednesday's settlement is in addition to an earlier one for more than $61 million that the university had already paid to 317 other survivors, bringing the total cost of the awards to more than $161 million.

According to NBC News, the scandal also reached Congress, splashing influential Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State from 1986 to 1994. Mike DiSabato, the former wrestler who blew the lid off the case in 2018, and other former athletes accused him of ignoring the abuses. However, Jordan has repeatedly denied any knowledge of what happened.

Last month, according to NBC, deposition transcripts revealed that former athletic director Andy Geiger testified under oath that Jordan "probably knew" that Strauss abused athletes. The Republican representative's own testimony, taken as part of these lawsuits, remains sealed.