As congressional midterm elections rapidly approach, new reporting from local WCMH-TV now reveals that survivors of the Ohio State sexual abuse scandal have set their sights on Ohio’s Republican House Rep. Jim Jordan, working diligently to unseat the controversial congressman who they say was deeply embroiled in the efforts to cover up the sexual abuse that was being committed against members of the school’s wrestling team by the team doctor.
Local reporting reveals the group of former college athletes and sexual assault survivors aired their thoughts and feelings while standing outside Ohio Stadium during the Buckeyes’ Saturday game against Rutgers. The group reportedly wore t-shirts reading, “#MeToo Jordan Knew” as part of their efforts to unseat the Republican lawmaker and secure a win for Jim’s Democratic opponent, Tamie Wilson.
Wilson said, “Character matters. If this guy is going to be a part of sexual abuse, he’s not going to defend the Constitution or our country.”
Jim Jordan served as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University between 1987 and 1995, where he was infamously accused of engaging in a cover-up of sexual abuse and assault committed by the wrestling team’s physician, Richard Strauss. According to an outside investigation conducted into the matter, Strauss stood accused of abusing at least 177 former OSU students. Jordan has, of course, vehemently denied any knowledge of the sexual misconduct allegedly committed by Strauss.
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In fact, back in 2018, when news of the allegations first broke, Jordan went so far as to try to openly discredit the alleged victims who had come forward with their stories, stating, “The number of wrestlers who have reached out to me, who’ve said this is complete baloney. We’ve got statements that have been sent to us, people willing to help and tell the truth. We’ll continue to get that information out.”
Strauss was accused by hundreds of OSU students of performing highly invasive and medically unnecessary examinations of their genitals, dating as far back as 1979, all the way through to late 1996. Dozens upon dozens of Strauss’ sexual abuse survivors have spoken out and claimed that their complaints and reports about the sexual assault went ignored by officials with the university, as well as by assistant coaches, such as Rep. Jim Jordan.
Strauss survivor Tom Lisy said, “His coverup of the OSU sexual assault is the real crime, the real slight. There’s guys I know who trained with him every day and they went through a journey together and he has completely turned his back to them.”
Read the full report from WCMH-TV here.
Featured image via Flickr/Gage Skidmore, under Creative Commons license 2.0
