Ohio State faces more Strauss lawsuits

Two more federal lawsuits have been filed by former Ohio State University students this week, alleging their alma mater failed to address sexual abuse by deceased university physician Richard Strauss.

Lawsuits regarding the doctor’s sexual abuse and the university’s failure to act now number at least six, and include more than 130 plaintiffs.

The most recent suit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Columbus includes 16 new plaintiffs, including a handful of anonymous John Does and former Ohio State wrestlers, including Big Ten wrestling champion Dunyasha Yetts, national champion and UFC fighter Mark Coleman, All-american wrestler Nicholas Nutter and Ohio State Hall of Fame inductee Adam Disabato.

That complaint alleges that Strauss sexually abused and harassed the plaintiffs when they were students at Ohio State. In addition to Title IX claims, the suit also claims unlawful retaliation, writing that unnamed Ohio State employees contacted the plaintiffs so they would not share their stories.

Another suit filed earlier this week in U.S. District Court in Columbus said plaintiff Michael Heifferon was sexually abused by Strauss when he was a student at Ohio State in the mid-1980s. On one occasion, Strauss

tended to Heifferon after he was hit above the eye with a hockey puck while serving as an athletic trainer for the team, the lawsuit alleges. Strauss gave Heifferon an injection, and Heifferon later woke up with his zipper down and genitals exposed.

“He didn’t want it to be anonymous, and wants to be able to say to the public that this happened to him and that the university should be held to account,” said Heifferon’s attorney, Brad Jeckering. “... He’s hoping that by coming forward, others will have the courage to do so as well. Hopefully, the university will do the right thing.”

An investigative report released last

month found Strauss abused at least 177 former students during his nearly 20 years of employment at Ohio State. The report also found university employees knew about the doctor’s misconduct and repeatedly failed to act.

University officials eventually conducted a limited investigation into Strauss in 1996, after which he was told his services seeing student patients within student health services and athletics would no longer be needed. He voluntarily retired from Ohio State in 1998.

Strauss relocated to California, and he died by suicide there in 2005.

Ohio State has moved to dismiss previous lawsuits, arguing the statute of limitations