WASHINGTON — A former Ohio State wrestler has accused Rep. Jim Jordan — one of the most powerful conservatives in Congress — of knowingly ignoring sexual abuse allegations while Jordan was a wrestling coach at Ohio State University, according to a report by NBC News.
In April, Ohio State University announced it was opening an investigation into "allegations of sexual misconduct that have recently come forward regarding a former wrestling team physician, Dr. Richard Strauss."
Strauss, who served as the wrestling team's physician from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s, died in 2005. Jordan, an Ohio Republican first elected to the House in 2006, worked as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State from 1987 until 1995. Jordan, a former college wrestling champion, has said he did not know about Strauss's alleged behavior until his accusers came forward publicly.
Part of the university's investigation includes determining if anyone at Ohio State University knew about the allegations and should have reported them.
“These are deeply troubling allegations, and we are committed to get to the bottom of this,” Ohio State University President Michael Drake said at a recent meeting.
Here's more from the NBC story:
"Three former wrestlers told NBC News that it was common knowledge that Strauss showered regularly with the students and inappropriately touched them during appointments, and said it would have been impossible for Jordan to be unaware; one wrestler said he told Jordan directly about the abuse."
One ex-wrestler, Mike DiSabato, is quoted as calling Jordan a “liar” for saying he did not know of the abuse allegations.
“I considered Jim Jordan a friend,” DiSabato told NBC. “But at the end of the day, he is absolutely lying if he says he doesn’t know what was going on.”
DiSabato also told NBC that he contacted Jordan earlier this year to tell the congressman he planned to go public with his allegations.
Jordan told him to "please leave me out of it," DiSabato told NBC. "He asked me not to get him involved." USA TODAY was unable to reach DiSabato Tuesday.
Ian Fury, a spokesman for Jordan, said the congressman had no knowledge of the alleged abuse and has not been contacted by the investigators hired by Ohio State.
“Congressman Jordan never saw any abuse, never heard about any abuse, and never had any abuse reported to him during his time as a coach at Ohio State," Fury said in an email to USA TODAY. "He has not been contacted by investigators about the matter but will assist them in any way they ask, because if what is alleged is true, the victims deserve a full investigation and justice.”
Benjamin Johnson, a spokesman for Ohio State, said the university opened the investigation on April 5 when a former student came forward with allegations of abuse. A law firm, Perkins Coie, is conducting an independent probe of the matter on behalf of the university’s attorneys.
The investigation has now expanded far beyond the university’s wrestling team to include athletes who played other sports, as well as people who may have met with Strauss while they were high school students.
“Perkins Coie now has received confidential reports of sexual misconduct committed by Strauss from former varsity men student-athletes in 14 sports and from former patients of Student Health Services within the Office of Student Life,” Johnson said in a statement.
“The sports include baseball, cheerleading, cross country, fencing, football, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball and wrestling,” he added. “The Perkins team is also investigating whether, and to what extent, Dr. Strauss may have examined high school-aged students during his time at the university.”
Jordan is one of the most vocal and influential conservatives in the House — and he's eyeing a bid for the top GOP leadership slot. He co-founded the House Freedom Caucus, a faction of about 30 ultra-conservative Republicans who often buck the GOP leadership on legislation they see as too moderate.
Jordan was among those who helped oust former House Speaker John Boehner, a fellow Ohio Republican who Jordan saw as too eager to compromise with Democrats.
This spring — around the same time the Ohio State probe began — Jordan said he was interested in running for House speaker to succeed retiring Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. That would mean challenging the current frontrunner for the slot, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican.
"I've had colleagues encourage me to consider that and I'm open to that," Jordan told USA TODAY in mid-April.
It's unlikely Jordan could get enough votes to win the speakership himself, but he could get the support of dozens of his hardline colleagues, which could derail McCarthy's bid.
This is not the first time questions have been raised about Jordan's knowledge of improper sexual behavior. Last year, the Washington Post reported that then-Ohio state Rep. Wes Goodman, a one-time aide to Jordan, allegedly fondled an 18-year-old college student at a conservative group's event in Washington.
Goodman later resigned from the state Legislature, after he was accused of "inappropriate behavior" in his office with a man. Goodman worked as an aide to Jordan for several years before running for office himself.
When the allegations emerged, Jordan's spokeswoman at the time, Melika Willoughby, said Jordan's office was unaware of any allegations against Goodman.
"During his employment with our office, we heard no allegations of wrongdoing and received no accusations of misconduct," Willoughby told the Cincinnati Enquirer in 2017. "Congressman Jordan is deeply disappointed by this troubling news."
Contributing: Eliza Collins and Jessie Balmert
WSBTV
