In a phone interview, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, responded to allegations that he turned a blind eye to sexual abuse during his time as an assistant Ohio State wrestling coach.
Did he know of allegations that a team doctor was molesting members of his team? “I never heard of abuse, plain and simple,” the Ohio Republican told me over the phone. “No one ever reported or talked about abuse. I never heard of it.”
An NBC News report prompted that question and rocked Capitol Hill Tuesday while members were away for Independence Day recess. Three former Ohio State wrestlers accuse the Freedom Caucus founder of ignoring allegations that a team physician, the late Dr. Richard Strauss, preyed on student athletes during his watch.
[Jim Jordan responds to claims he knew about Ohio State doctor who sexually abused wrestlers: WATCH]
Jordan overlapped with Strauss while working as an assistant wrestling coach from 1986 to 1994. Ohio State opened an investigation into the late doctor in April.
While reiterating the he didn’t hear about alleged sexual misconduct at the time, Jordan signed off on that inquiry. “If there was actual abuse, we want the investigation,” Jordan said. “We want the victims to receive justice. But I didn’t know of any [abuse].”
“Despite claims to the contrary, Congressman Jordan’s office has not received a request for interview from the investigative team,” Ian Fury, Jordan’s spokesman, tells me. “We have demanded that they send us the supposed communication and remain willing to assist in any way that we can.”
Three former wrestlers dispute Jordan’s account. They told NBC that Strauss touched them inappropriately during medical checkups. Those Ohio State alumni said it would be impossible for Jordan not to know about the allegations. They say the doctor even showered with the team.
Jordan doesn’t dispute that last point. He says Strauss showered with the team in the same way that athletes from other sports, intramural students, and professors used the same facilities. “We were in a common, giant area,” Jordan remembers 24 years later. “It was one common shower.”
One of the wrestlers, whose testimony prompted Ohio State University to open the investigation, even called his old coach a liar. “I considered Jim Jordan a friend,” Mike 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.”
The two continued to keep in touch after graduation as Jordan turned to Ohio politics. Their friendship fell off though the years and Jordan told me the two hadn’t spoken for “months.” He did verify the authenticity of threatening emails obtained by the Washington Examiner that DiSabato sent the congressman.
The first email, dated May 6, included allegations that Jordan’s nephews, who currently wrestle for Ohio State, broke NCAA eligibility rules. The second, dated June 15, threatened the congressman’s political career and appear to call Jordan a “? imp walking.”
Jordan said he and his chief of staff considered turning the emails over to Capitol Police but decided against it.
