The US Supreme Court has recently stated a decision not to reconsider a lower court ruling that has dealt a potential blow to Ohio State University.
The ruling stated that former students should be permitted to sue the university for its failure to protect them from a sexual predator many decades ago.
This decision comes nearly a year after the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that a federal judge had made an error in 2021 when ruling that the statute of limitations had expired in the case against Dr. Richard Strauss.
Steve Snyder-Hill, a victim of Strauss, expressed satisfaction with the Supreme Court’s decision, stating that “justice has prevailed”. He emphasized, “Colleges are not going to be able to cover up and lie about sexual assault then turn around and tell you it is too late (to sue) since they were so successful in covering it up”.
Lawyers representing the survivors accused Ohio State University of “attempting to run out the clock on its accountability.”. They expressed “We look forward to returning to the trial court, having our clients’ stories heard, and gathering further evidence of OSU’s widespread cover-up of Dr. Strauss’s serial predation.”
Ohio State University expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court’s choice not to review the case. However, they affirmed their commitment to supporting survivors and highlighted that they have already paid $60 million in settlement funds to 296 victims. The university also claimed, “Ohio State is a fundamentally different university today than when Strauss was employed and over the past 20 years has committed substantial resources to prevent and address sexual misconduct.”
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the lawyers representing the victims of Dr. Richard Strauss announced their intention to return to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Ohio to continue their case against Ohio State University (OSU).
The legal team, led by Public Justice Students’ Civil Rights Project Director Adele Kimmel, stated “We plan to depose every OSU employee alleged to have known about Strauss’s abuse, including the employees named in the complaints”. One such employee mentioned is Representative Jim Jordan, who served as an assistant wrestling coach at OSU during the 1986-1994 period. Jordan has faced accusations of failing to intervene and stop Strauss from sexually molesting the student-athletes he coached.
However, Jordan has consistently denied any knowledge of Strauss’s actions. Russell Dye, spokesperson for Jordan stated, “Congressman Jordan never saw or heard of any abuse, and if he had, he would have dealt with it.”
The allegations against Strauss involve hundreds of men who attended Ohio State University between the 1970s and 1990s. Strauss is accused of sexually preying on these individuals, often under the guise of conducting medical exams like hernia checks. The statute of limitations for criminal rape cases in Ohio is 20 years, and Strauss died by suicide in 2005.
In September 2022, Judge Karen Nelson Moore of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court ruled that most of the men did not realize they were victims of sexual abuse until 2018, indicating that their claims should not be barred by the statute of limitations.
According to Judge Karen Nelson Moore’s opinion “At the time of the abuse, they were teenagers and young adults and did not know what was medically appropriate. Strauss gave pretextual and false medical explanations for the abuse.”
Furthermore, Judge Moore highlighted that many of the former students believed that “conduct was so widely known and talked about, it could not have been abuse. Similarly, many believed that Ohio State would not have made Strauss the athletic team doctor unless his examinations were legitimate, and thus, that the conduct was medically appropriate even if it was uncomfortable.”
Additionally, the plaintiffs stated that they only became aware in 2018 that OSU administrators allegedly had prior knowledge of the abuse but failed to take any action to stop it.
Therefore, according to the recent ruling, the statute of limitations should have started when the alleged victims became aware that the administrators were aware of Strauss’ actions “and failed to respond appropriately.” This contradicted the ruling made by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson in September 2021.
Previously, Ohio State University had already reached a settlement of $40.9 million with 162 victims of Strauss in 2020, acknowledging their failure to protect them. As a result, Judge Watson dismissed the remaining lawsuits against the university.
Judge Watson’s decision was criticized because he refused to recuse himself from the Strauss cases despite disclosing his wife’s business relationship with OSU. He made this admission during a hearing in September 2021 in response to a question from an NBC News reporter.
The university faced scrutiny in 2018 when former OSU wrestler Mike DiSabato and several other wrestlers came forward with allegations that the team doctor had molested them during physical examinations.
A year later, an independent investigation conducted by the law firm Perkins Coie concluded that coaches and athletic administrators at Ohio State University were aware for two decades that Strauss was sexually molesting male athletes and other students, but they failed to take action or report it. The investigation report, which spanned 180 pages, revealed that “Many of the students felt that Strauss’ behavior was an ‘open secret,’ as it appeared to them that their coaches, trainers and other team physicians were fully aware of Strauss’ activities, and yet few seemed inclined to do anything to stop it.”
According to the investigators, at least 177 male student-patients were sexually abused by Strauss. In a complaint filed with the Supreme Court, two former Ohio State wrestlers identified as John Doe 18 and John Doe 23 alleged that Representative Jim Jordan was aware of the athletes referring to Strauss as “Dr. Cough.” The complaint further states “no concern despite the athletes’ frequent comments about genital exams”. When the wrestlers raised concerns about Strauss and other men staring at them in the showers, Jordan and head coach Russ Hellickson allegedly instructed them to ignore the situation.
The complaint states “Because Coach Hellickson, Assistant Coach Jordan, and the athletic department treated Dr. Strauss’s behavior as acceptable, John Doe 23 believed there was nothing he could do to address his discomfort with Dr. Strauss.”
