Ex-Ohio State Wrestler Says Rep. Jim Jordan Involved in Sexual Abuse Cover-Up

Former Ohio State wrestling captain Adam DiSabato told the Ohio House Civil Justice Committee that U.S. Congressman Jim Jordan begged him to deny claims that school officials knew of and ignored allegations that Dr. Richard Strauss sexually abused Buckeyes wrestlers.

"Jim Jordan called me crying, groveling, begging me to go against my brother, begging me, crying for a half-hour. That's the kind of cover-up that's going on there," DiSabato said of a conversation he said he had with Jordan in July 2018, per Savannah Behrmann of USA Today.

Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State from 1987 to 1995, and Berhmann noted "many wrestlers and even referees claim Jordan knew or was told of the abuse, but didn't speak out."

Last year, Ohio State released a report created by Perkins Coie LLP that found Strauss sexually abused at least 177 students during his time of employment between 1978 and 1998.

"Investigators concluded that university personnel at the time had knowledge of complaints and concerns about Strauss' conduct as early as 1979 but failed to investigate or act meaningfully," a summary of the report stated.

Per Merrit Kennedy of NPR, no action occurred until concerns were escalated outside the student health and athletics departments in 1996. Strauss was suspended and later retired in 1998.

Kennedy also detailed some of the findings.

"The instances of abuse often involved inappropriate touching of a students' genitals during exams in ways that weren't medically useful. A number of students said Strauss 'would routinely touch their genitals at every visit, regardless of the medical ailment presented, including for a sore throat,' the report states.

"The report also states that members of 15 university athletic teams were abused. Strauss most frequently targeted wrestlers—48 of them, according to the report. And the abuse often became more explicit over multiple visits."

Per Jennifer Smola of the Columbus Dispatch, the accusations against Strauss total nearly 1,500.

Strauss died by suicide in 2005.