Survivors of the Dr. Richard Strauss abuse have spoken out in the documentary “Surviving Ohio State,” calling for Ohio State to take some “measure of justice or accountability.” Credit: Courtesy of HBO
Public Justice is a national nonprofit legal organization that, along with Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP and Scott Elliot Smith, L.P.A., represents over 100 Strauss abuse survivors who have a message to share to the public.
On June 17, “Surviving Ohio State”, a new documentary by Eva Orner, began streaming on HBO Max. It tells the story of a massive sexual abuse scandal at one of the largest universities in the country. Ohio State spent two decades enabling the late Dr. Richard Strauss, a sports team physician and professor, who sexually abused hundreds of male students and athletes.
The consequences were catastrophic: some students dropped out; others spiraled into addiction or mental illness. All the while, the university turned its back on a generation of young Buckeyes.
This story, of abuse, survival, and cover-up, is ours. We are 106 survivors trying to hold Ohio State accountable for failing to protect us. Some of us are featured in the documentary. Others are not. But we were all victimized by Dr. Richard Strauss and the university. Like true Buckeyes, we have fought for years—in some cases decades—in pursuit of what’s right and just. We have survived Ohio State’s repeated attempts to dismiss, silence, and deceive us.
Ohio State is an integral part of Ohio, and the university’s impact is felt far and wide. Now, thanks to “Surviving Ohio State,” our fight stretches far beyond just the boundaries of OSU’s campus and the four walls of a courtroom, too. Taking on a storied institution like Ohio State isn’t easy—but we believe it is necessary to create an OSU that can hold its head high.
As millions of viewers learn about our stories through the film, we want them to know what we know, and what we feel deep in our bones: The OSU we attended—where Richard Strauss was allowed to commit abuses that OSU itself has called “reprehensible”— hasn’t changed its ways. Every Ohioan should be alarmed about that and demand action.
While Ohio State wants you to believe that the university “led the effort to investigate and expose Richard Strauss,” the truth is that they stood by as Richard Strauss preyed upon student-athletes and others again and again over a period of nearly two decades.
The first report of Strauss’ abuse was made in 1979, just a year after he began at Ohio State. He was promoted by the university and rose through the ranks, using his position of trust and confidence to access and abuse even more students. It took four decades for the university to finally open an investigation in 2018. That investigation revealed a damning pattern of institutional indifference in a 2019 report showing there were at least 177 abuse survivors and concluding that Ohio State had repeatedly failed to investigate or address complaints about Strauss.
Today, we are waiting for our day in court. We have been in litigation with the university for years, trying to reclaim some portion of what Strauss has taken from us. It has been a grueling, painful experience—even for proud Buckeyes like us. Ohio State could spare us more trauma and help give us closure by resolving these cases without further delay, without the need for numerous trials. They could fairly compensate us for the harm that has been done and take appropriate steps to ensure this will never happen again.
Instead, the university has tried to dismiss and intimidate us. It has offered insulting settlement agreements riddled with clauses aimed at silencing us and denying responsibility for the harm it has caused. Publicly, Ohio State has touted a $60 million settlement to survivors of Strauss, all while hoping Ohioans don’t realize or remember that other universities in similar situations have reached much larger settlements to compensate survivors for the harm they caused: Michigan State paid $500 million to survivors of Dr. Larry Nassar in 2018 and the University of California paid $1 billion to the survivors of Dr. George Tyndall in 2021. By comparison, OSU’s actions seem dismissive and dishonorable.
As “Surviving Ohio State” reaches homes and viewers across the country, we are still fighting for some measure of justice and accountability.
The university says on its website that, “The future is not only what you dream about; it’s what you create.” We couldn’t agree more. That’s why we’re working to create a future Ohio State that is safer for the next generation of Buckeyes and does better by those who were done wrong. Because, as Ohio State President Carter told graduates at this year’s commencement ceremony, “[W]hen you set out to create good, there’s a multiplier effect.”
Doing right by its students, being brave enough to admit what must change—and being strong enough to change it—shouldn’t be an Ohio State dream. It should be a real, concrete thing that the Ohio State of today is courageous enough to create.
Sincerely,
Snyder-Hill v. The Ohio State University
Richard E. Alleshouse, Kevin Gibson, Matthew McCoy, James Khalil, Robert John Schriner, Stephen Snyder-Hill, Melvin Robinson, Jerrold L. Solomon, Michael Montgomery, James Carroll, Kelly Reed, John Jackson, William E. Rieffer, Michael Murphy, William Douglas Brown , Joe Bechtel, Doug Wells, Kurt Huntsinger, Tim J. Moxley, Everett Lee Ross, Jr., Ronnie McDaniel, Errol Roger Smith II, Gary Avis, John Doe 70, John Doe 25, John Doe 47, John Doe 14, John Doe 89, John Doe 1, John Doe 46, John Doe 21, John Doe 50, John Doe 30, John Doe 8, John Doe 54, John Doe 9, John Doe 90, John Doe 63, John Doe 59, John Doe 82, John Doe 31, John Doe 67, John Doe 77, John Doe 15, John Doe 11, John Doe 72, John Doe 41, John Doe 104, John Doe 83, John Doe 91, John Doe 42, John Doe 95, John Doe 6, John Doe 17, John Doe 2, John Doe 73, John Doe 88, John Doe 84, John Doe 13, John Doe 19, John Doe 16, John Doe 35, John Doe 62, John Doe 39, John Doe 40
Gonzales v. The Ohio State University
Chad Hickman, Preston Kent Kilgore, Roger Beedon, Allan Mark Novakowski, Adam Plouse, Mark Chrystal, Michael Schyck, Sean Langer, Michel A Flusche, John Antognoli, Jeffrey C. Calhoun, Daniel Ritchie, Edward Gonzales, Michael Alf, John Doe 1, John Doe 13, John Doe 37, John Doe 61, John Doe 24, John Doe 19, John Doe 10, John Doe 33, John Doe 85, John Doe 38, John Doe 35, John Doe 94, John Doe 56, John Doe 15, John Doe 89, John Doe 75, John Doe 32, John Doe 39, John Doe 69, John Doe 64, John Doe 51, John Doe 62, John Doe 29, John Doe 25, John Doe 86, John Doe 40, John Doe 27
This op-ed was updated June 30 at 10:53 a.m. to make sure all law firms representing the Strauss survivors were represented in the byline.
