Two people are now alleging that Rep. Jim Jordan knew about the sexual misconduct scandal at Ohio State University, where Jordan worked as an assistant coach.
“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,” NBC News reported Thursday.
The victim said he was blown off when he reported the incident to Jordan and then-head coach Russ Hellickson.
“Yeah, that’s Strauss,” they replied. “Yeah, yeah, we know.”
The allegation directly contradicts Jordan’s denials.
“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,” NBC News reported. “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.”
NBC News interviewed John Doe.
“It was common knowledge what Strauss was doing so the attitude was it is what it is,” he told the network. “I wish Jim, and Russ, too, would stand up and do the right thing and admit they knew what Strauss was doing, because everybody knew what he was doing to the wrestlers. What was a shock to me is that Strauss tried to do that to me. He was breaking new ground by going after a ref.”
Former Ohio State wrestler Dunyasha Yetts also said he reported misconduct to Jordan and Hellickson.
“It’s good that people are starting to come forward and say the truth, which is that Jordan and the other coaches knew what was going on and they blew it off,” Yetts told NBC News.