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NBC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Federal judge orders Ohio State and Strauss sex abuse victims into mediation
A federal judge has ordered Ohio State University to resolve via mediation the remaining lawsuits filed by former students who claim it failed to protect them from a sexual predator on the school payroll. U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson issued the order Monday as the university still faces five active lawsuits from 236 men alleging that Dr. Richard Strauss molested them, mostly under the guise of giving physicals. 'The Ohio State University portrays itself as a different university today than it was when Dr. Richard Strauss abused hundreds of young men — for decades — as its employee,' Watson, of the Southern District of Ohio, wrote. 'Yet it is today's Ohio State that must reckon with the consequences of that ugly past in these cases.' If the case went to trial and the accusers won, it would be a 'pyrrhic' victory, Watson wrote. 'The best way for plaintiffs to close this horrific chapter of their lives and for Ohio State to move forward as a respectable institution of higher education, is through a mutual resolution short of a trial,' the judge wrote. Watson, in his order, referred the cases to Layn Phillips, a former Oklahoma federal judge who mediated the lawsuits filed against Michigan State by some 200 women athletes who were sexually abused by sports doctor Larry Nasser. Michigan State paid Nassar sex abuse survivors $500 million, which is believed to be the largest settlement ever in a sexual misconduct case involving a university. 'He got Michigan State to pay the victims millions in settlement money. So we see this as a big win for us,' one of the OSU plaintiffs, who asked not to be identified to avoid angering Watson, told NBC News. Phillips will be working alongside fellow mediators Catherine Geyer and Michelle Yoshida, as well as law clerk Caroline Kedeshian, Watson's order states. Watson also gave both sides a deadline of Feb. 27, 2026 to provide the court with a progress report 'at which point the Court will consider whether additional mediation would be productive.' In the meantime, lawyers for OSU and the plaintiffs will be allowed to continue taking depositions from witnesses. Among those who have already been deposed are Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who was the assistant wrestling coach at the university from 1986 to 1994 before he got into politics, four plaintiffs in lawsuits against the university told NBC News last month. Jordan has repeatedly and publicly denied any knowledge that Strauss was preying on athletes. He was deposed about a month after the release of an HBO Max documentary about the Strauss scandal called ' Surviving Ohio State,' in which one of the wrestlers he once coached called him a liar. Jordan is not a defendant, but he is referred to in some of the lawsuits alleging he was aware of the abuse. Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Watson's ruling. A spokesperson for Ohio State, Benjamin Johnson, also declined to comment, saying via email, 'We don't typically comment on pending litigation." Ohio State found itself under fire in 2018 after a whistleblowing former wrestler named Mike DiSabato went public with allegations that Strauss had sexually abused him and hundreds of other athletes and that the school knew about it but did nothing to stop him. Strauss preyed on hundreds of men from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s. He died by suicide in 2005. An independent investigation sponsored by Ohio State and conducted by the Perkins Coie law firm concluded in May 2019 that Strauss sexually abused at least 177 male athletes and students and that coaches and administrators knew about it for two decades but failed to stop him. Since the release of the report, OSU has said it has paid out $60 million in settlement money and its former president has publicly apologized 'to each person who endured' abuse at the hands of Strauss. But it has balked at settling the remaining lawsuits.
Los Angeles Times
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
A new film about the Ohio State wrestling team sex abuse scandal indicts those who looked away
For more than 30 years, Fred Feeney refereed matches for the Ohio State University's powerhouse wrestling team. Unlike the dozens of young men whose athletic scholarships depended on staying in the good graces of the team doctor, Richard Strauss, who could withhold permission for them to compete, Feeney didn't have to persuade himself that what Strauss did was OK. He didn't have to pretend it was OK that Strauss was constantly taking showers with athletes. Or that it was OK when, after a match, Strauss masturbated next to Feeney in the shower, then grabbed the ref's ass. A visibly shaken Feeney recounts in the new documentary, 'Surviving Ohio State,' that he left the locker room that day in distress and immediately told wrestling coach Russ Hellickson and assistant wrestling coach Jim Jordan what had happened. Both coaches shrugged, said Feeney, who added that Jordan told him, 'It's Strauss. You know what he does.' Dan Ritchie, who quit the wrestling team in his third year because he could no longer tolerate Strauss' sexual abuse — which included forcing athletes to drop their pants and endure genital and rectal exams when they saw him, for even the most minor complaint — said that Jordan once told him, 'If he ever did that to me, I'd snap his neck like a stick of dry balsa wood.' But Jordan, now the powerful chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and an unwavering ally of President Trump, has assiduously denied ever seeing or knowing about assaults committed by Strauss during Jordan's eight years with the team. He emerges as one of the bad guys in the new film, which is based on the Sports Illustrated 2020 investigation, 'Why Aren't More People Talking About the Ohio State Sex Abuse Scandal?' Produced by the Oscar-winning documentarian Eva Orner and George Clooney's production company, it debuted on HBO Max in June. 'To say that [Jordan] knew nothing, that nothing ever happened, it's a flat out lie,' Ritchie says in the documentary. A callous response to reports of sexual assault was the norm at Ohio State. While administrators deflected reports about Strauss for years, claiming they were just rumors, the university's 2019 investigation, performed by an outside law firm, found that during his 1978-1996 tenure in the athletics department and at the student health center, Strauss assaulted at least 177 students thousands of times. The school's fencing coach, Charlotte Remenyik, complained about Strauss for 10 years until he was finally removed as her teams' doctor. (In response to her efforts to protect her athletes, Strauss accused her of waging a vendetta against him.) A complaint finally caused the university to remove him as a treating physician at OSU in 1996, but he was still a tenured faculty member when he retired, with 'emeritus' status, in 1998. He died by suicide in 2005. It was not until the Larry Nassar gymnastics abuse scandal exploded between 2016 and 2018 that the former Ohio State wrestlers understood that they, too, had been victimized by their team doctor, and that there were probably a lot more of them than anyone realized. 'I said, 'Wow, that's us,'' said former OSU wrestler Michael DiSabato, one of the first to go public. 'It unlocked something in me.' A group of former teammates met in 2018, then later sat down with their old coach, Hellickson, in an emotional encounter. Hellickson promised to write letters supporting them, the wrestlers said, then ghosted them. He did not respond to filmmakers' requests to be interviewed. Likewise, Jordan shunned requests for interviews, and he has appeared exasperated in news clips when questioned about what he knew. He's not a defendant in any of the abuse lawsuits filed against OSU. In 2020, Michael DiSabato's brother, Adam, a former wrestler and team captain, testified under oath during a hearing on an Ohio bill that would have allowed Strauss' victims to sue OSU for damages, that Jordan called him 'crying, groveling … begging me to go against my brother.' Jordan has denied that conversation took place. It seems to me that a normal human being, operating from a place of empathy, might express feelings of sorrow that the young male athletes in his charge were abused to the point that some considered suicide and others quit sports altogether, instead of accusing them of lying. Ritchie, for example, said his father was so disappointed about his decision to quit wrestling — he could not bring himself to tell his father why — that it permanently overshadowed their relationship. I find no evidence that Jordan ever expressed feelings of regret for his wrestlers, though he did insist to Politico in 2018, 'I never knew about any type of abuse. If I did, I would have done something about it. And look, if there are people who are abused, then that's terrible and we want justice to happen.' If? Although the explosive new documentary has been overshadowed by the implosion taking place in MAGA world over the 'Jeffrey Epstein files' and questions about Trump's relationship with the serial sexual predator, the OSU scandal is far from being yesterday's news. So far, OSU has settled with nearly 300 abuse survivors, each receiving an average of $252,000. But many are not willing to settle for what they consider peanuts and note that the average payout to Nassar's victim is more than $1 million. On Friday, as part of a federal civil lawsuit filed by some of them, Jordan was reportedly due to be deposed under oath for the first time about the allegations that he knew about the abuse and failed to protect his wrestlers. Steve Snyder-Hill, one of the first OSU non-athletes to report that he'd been assaulted by Strauss in 1995, told NBC that he planned to be present for Jordan's deposition. 'I expect him to lie under oath,' said Snyder-Hill. 'I don't know a nicer way to put it.' Bluesky: @rabcarian Threads: @rabcarian
Axios
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Axios
HBO doc spotlights Ohio State sex abuse scandal
A new documentary about Ohio State University's sexual abuse scandal debuts Tuesday on HBO Max, exploring how former campus physician Richard Strauss abused hundreds of male athletes over two decades. Why it matters: Lawsuits from some survivors are still pending. The George Clooney-produced film, " Surviving Ohio State," will bring more national attention to their cases. Catch up quick: Strauss abused hundreds of male student-athletes from 1978 to 1998 during medical exams, per a 2019 independent investigation and university data. Officials knew about complaints as early as 1979 but "failed to investigate or act meaningfully," the investigation found. Strauss died by suicide in 2005. Survivors first publicly alleged abuse in 2018. 💭 Alissa's thought bubble: I received early viewing access to the documentary, a thoughtful and often-shocking synopsis of a complicated and uncomfortable topic. While much of the information may be familiar to those who have closely followed the story, it does a great job explaining how abuse happened in survivors' voices. Between the lines: Tough-guy gender stereotyping made it harder for them to talk about it and be taken seriously, survivors say — by officials back then, and by the public today. Many depended on OSU for scholarships and Strauss's medical checkoffs to compete, further complicating the situation. "It was a dirty little secret that we all just tip-toed around, and we just dealt with it," a former wrestler says. Zoom in: "Surviving Ohio State" spends time highlighting U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Urbana), an assistant wrestling coach during Strauss's tenure. Jordan has denied knowing about the abuse. Follow the money: Since 2018, OSU has settled with 296 survivors (more than half of plaintiffs) for more than $60 million, university spokesperson Ben Johnson tells Axios. The university also continues to cover the costs of survivors' counseling and other medical treatment. The cases of former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar and former University of Michigan doctor Robert Anderson attracted more attention and resulted in larger settlements compared with OSU's, though the institutionalized abuse is on a similar scale, the film notes. What they're saying:"We express our deep regret and apologies to all who experienced Strauss' abuse," an OSU statement to Axios reads.
Associated Press
04-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Dr. Hanes Brings Root Cause Resolution Medicine to Central Oregon
The Center for Functional Medicine's Dr. Coby Hanes is changing the way people look at health and well-being PRINEVILLE, OREGON - June 4, 2025 - Dr. Coby Hanes, founder of The Center for Functional Medicine, is changing the way people across Oregon look at their health and well-being with revolutionary root cause resolution medicine. This form of healthcare aims to treat the root cause of the problems a patient is experiencing rather than masking the symptoms with medication. Dr. Hanes, author of ' Going From Surviving to Thriving: Your Functional Medicine QuickStart Guide,' is a functional medicine practitioner who offers an individualized six step plan to help patients overcome their health challenges by targeting the root cause. According to Dr. Hanes, 'I work diligently to uncover the root causes of what started the persons symptoms in the first place. I use systems based biology to understand the patient and their problems as an integrated whole, as opposed to treating or chasing every sign and symptom they present with.' Some of the most common conditions he treats include ADHD, adrenal fatigue, seasonal and food allergies, autoimmune diseases, brain injuries and memory impairment, candida, diabetes, digestive health and leaky gut, and hormone imbalance. He starts by focusing on digestive health in each client. 'Most people are beginning to understand that many of their health conditions start in the gut. However, they have never had someone explain it to them or give them a roadmap of how to fix it' said Dr. Hanes. Then, he moves forward with helping each patient optimize their nutrition; eliminate their toxin burden; reduce inflammation and stop infection; optimize brain function; eliminate allergies and sensitivities; and balance hormones. Dr. Hanes utilizes extensive functional lab testing to get a deep understanding of each patient's metabolic landscape; be it micro or macro nutrients deficiencies, autoimmunity, inflammation, infection or toxins. While functional lab testing looks at some of the same things as traditional labs, functional labs go much deeper, look at many more metabolic and early physiologic markers and interprets them in a much more holistic way, offering a clearer picture of overall health. Dr. Hanes provides his patients with one-on-one, personalized care that tackles the underlying reasons for their symptoms and suffering. 'I've been helping patients with complex, chronic disease long enough to know that symptoms lie and every patient is unique. So, rather than treating symptoms, I work diligently to uncover the 'Root Causes' of what started the symptoms in the first place,' said Dr. Hanes' Through Dr. Hanes' care, people in Oregon are transforming their health and living healthier lives. Dr. Hanes' preventative approach supports health for the long-term in ways that traditional symptoms based and pharmaceutically dependent medicine cannot. Right now, The Center for Functional Medicine is accepting new patients at its Prineville office. Further information, including how to schedule an appointment, can be found now by visiting ABOUT THE CENTER FOR FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE The Center for Functional Medicine, founded by Dr. Coby Hanes, helps patients resolve chronic conditions by targeting root causes. Location: Media Contact Company Name: The Center for Functional Medicine Contact Person: Dr. Coby Hanes Email: Send Email Phone: (541) 447-7230 Address:446 NW 3rd St Ste 201 City: Prineville State: Oregon Country: United States Website: Source: Oregon Web Solutions
Daily Record
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
FBI claims it will release jail tape proving Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide
Epstein, 66, was found hanging inside a jail cell at the NYC's Metropolitan Correctional Center on the morning of Aug. 10, 2019. His death was ruled a suicide soon after. The FBI has claimed they have a video which proves that Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide and says it will release the footage soon. Epstein, 66, was found hanging inside a jail cell at the NYC's Metropolitan Correctional Center on the morning of Aug. 10, 2019. His death was ruled a suicide soon after. But conspiracy theorists believe that he did not end his life, maintaining that Epstein's death was murder. Their beliefs are fuelled by reports at the time that guards failed to check on him and cameras weren't working. But FBI Deputy Director Don Bongino, appointed by US President, Donald Trump, in March says that he plans to release prison video of Epstein that confirms the billionaire financier and convicted sex offender killed himself. But when asked if the video showed Epstein taking his own life, he admitted it didn't. 'There is video,' Bongino told Fox & Friends. 'You are going to see there is no one there but him... there is video clear as day, he's the only person in there and the only person coming out.' Epstein, 66, was awaiting trial on federal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges. 'I say to people, if you have a tip, let us know,' Bongino, a former conservative talk show host, said. 'But there's no DNA, there's no audio, there's no fingerprints, there's no suspects, there's no accomplices, there's no tips. There is nothing. If you have it, I'm happy to see it.' Bongino said his office was 'working on cleaning' up the video. 'There is going to be a disclosure on this coming shortly. We will give the original, so you don't think there were any shenanigans.' When asked if the video would include Epstein killing himself, Bongino responded that the video doesn't show 'the actual act.' Epstein was accused of molesting multiple teenaged girls at his Palm Beach mansion. Investigators claimed that Epstein would lure teen girls to his home by paying them to massage him. During the massages, he would allegedly assault the teens, force them to have sex with him and offer them money to bring him other underage girls to assault. Many of his alleged victims spoke to Lifetime for Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, a four-hour miniseries on the financier's alleged crimes. Virginia Giuffre, who said she was recruited by Epstein's friend Ghislaine Maxwell, said in one of the first two episodes that the first time she was abused by Epstein, Maxwell assisted. Giuffre committed suicide at the age of 41 at her farm outside Perth, Australia, on Thursday, April 24. That suicide is also subject to speculation after her father claimed 'somebody got to her'. Giuffre received a multi-million dollar payout from Prince Andrew as a settlement after she accused him of having sex with her, which he denies. Epstein was arrested in July 2019 for allegedly sex trafficking girls as young as 14. He died almost a month after his arrest. Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison at Florida Correctional Institution-Tallahassee on June 28, 2022. In addition to her prison sentence, she was fined $750,000.
