Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said an investigative report detailing sexual abuse at Ohio State University corroborated his claims that he had no knowledge of the abuse.
“I think the report speaks for itself,” Jordan, who was a coach for Ohio State’s wrestling team from 1987-1995, told reporters Friday. “It confirmed everything I have said all along.”
The report, which was conducted by law firm Perkins Coie, determined that former Ohio State team doctor Richard Strauss sexually abused at least 177 male students between 1979 and 1996. Five hundred former students and university employees were interviewed as part of the investigation. Several former Ohio State wrestlers accused Jordan of knowing about the abuse when the allegations first surfaced, but Jordan denied he was aware of such misconduct.
Investigators claimed that they could not make “conclusive determinations” about whether coaches knew about the misconduct, although there was one unnamed exception.
“You guys know me,” Jordan said. “If I thought one of our athletes was being harmed … I’d have done something. But, yeah, we’re glad that the report’s done and that people who need counseling and want counseling, the university’s going to pay for that.”