Ohio State Wrestlers Say Jim Jordan Betrayed Them During Sex Abuse Scandal and Should Not Be House Speaker: 'He Doesn't Deserve It'
Four former Ohio State University wrestlers criticized Jim Jordan this week.
Oct. 11 2023, Published 9:05 a.m. ET
Four former Ohio State University wrestlers criticized Jim Jordan this week and said that the GOP House Rep. is unfit to be the next House Speaker, RadarOnline.com can report.
In a sudden development to come after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the role last week, four former OSU wrestlers spoke out to argue against Jordan’s candidacy for the position.
the four wrestlers previously accused Jordan of failing to protect them from sexual abuse when Jordan was the team’s assistant coach in the 1980s and 1990s.
According to NBC News, the four wrestlers previously accused Jordan of failing to protect them from sexual abuse by the team’s former doctor, Richard Strauss, when Jordan was the team’s assistant coach in the 1980s and 1990s.
Mike Schyck, one of the former wrestlers who has since sued the university, argued that Jordan's failure to support and protect the wrestlers contradicted the kind of leadership qualities needed for the position of House Speaker.
“Do you really want a guy in that job who chose not to stand up for his guys?” Schyck said. “Is that the kind of character trait you want for a House Speaker?”
Another former OSU wrestler, Dunyasha Yetts, accused Jordan of “hypocrisy” and stated that the 59-year-old Ohio House Rep. does not deserve the position of House Speaker.
“Do you really want a guy in that job who chose not to stand up for his guys?” one former OSU wrestler said.
“He doesn’t deserve to be House Speaker,” Yetts charged. “He still has to answer for what happened to us.”
Rocky Ratliff, yet another former wrestler and alleged victim of Strauss, claimed that Jordan “abandoned his former wrestlers in the Ohio State sexual abuse scandal and cover-up.”
Meanwhile, Jordan denied any knowledge of the sexual abuse by Strauss during his time as a coach at OSU. His spokesperson also denied the allegations that Jordan knew about the abuse.
"Chairman Jordan never saw or heard of any abuse, and if he had, he would have dealt with it," Jordan’s spokesman, Russell Dye, said in a statement after the four former OSU wrestlers spoke out this week.
OSU team doctor Richard Strauss was accused of preying on hundreds of male students from the 1970s to the 1990s.
However, multiple wrestlers alleged that Jordan was aware of the abuse and the discussions surrounding it.
One wrestler, identified only as John Doe in the latest lawsuit against the university, stated that Jordan knew about Strauss' actions but chose to “play with words” instead of supporting them.
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“My problem with Jimmy is that he has been playing with words instead of supporting us,” Doe told NBC News.
“None of us used the words ‘sexual abuse’ when we talked about what Doc Strauss was doing to us,” he continued, “we just knew it was weird and Jimmy knew about it because we talked about it all the time in the locker room, at practices, everywhere.”
House Rep. Jordan is expected to be called to testify in the latest lawsuit against OSU regarding the sex abuse scandal.
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As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Strauss – who passed away in 2005 – was accused of preying on hundreds of male students at OSU from the 1970s to the 1990s under the guise of “medical exams.”
The university has since admitted its failure to protect students from Strauss and paid out $60 million in settlements to suspected victims.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected OSU's attempt to dismiss the remaining lawsuits against the school.
House Rep. Jordan's name was mentioned in previous lawsuits filed against the university and he is expected to be deposed in the ongoing lawsuits.
The former wrestlers plan to have Jordan testify under oath about his knowledge of the abuse, NBC News reported. The wrestlers also alleged that Jordan's locker was near Strauss' and that they frequently discussed the doctor's actions.
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