Ohio State University has been attempting to close a chapter that just won’t go away for the better part of ten years. A new group of former student-athletes comes forward each time the school releases a statement regarding reconciliation, and the narrative becomes more complex, weighty, and difficult to confront head-on. Thirty former football players have agreed to join a federal lawsuit against the university over the abuse committed by team physician Dr. Richard Strauss, who worked there from 1978 to 1998. This is the most recent development. Three of them, who were all part of Woody Hayes’ fabled 1980 Rose Bowl team, gave their names to the public. So far, none of the others have.
The timing has a subtly devastating quality. These men are in their sixties. The majority carried this specific silence for nearly fifty years, while some had NFL careers and others led regular lives. Rocky Ratliff, their attorney, claimed that they remained silent for decades due to the burden of facing a university the size of Ohio State and the humiliation of acknowledging that another man had mistreated them. It’s difficult to ignore the fact that male athletes in particular were trained to bury such things.
| Key Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Institution | The Ohio State University |
| Accused Physician | Dr. Richard Strauss (1938–2005) |
| Years of Employment at OSU | 1978 – 1998 |
| Roles Held | Team physician, Athletics Department; Student Health Center; Faculty, College of Medicine |
| Confirmed Survivors (Perkins Coie Report) | At least 177 male student-patients |
| Reported Misconduct (2019 Safety Report) | 1,430 instances of fondling, 47 rapes |
| Independent Investigators | Perkins Coie LLP |
| Investigation Cost | Roughly $6.2 million |
| Total Settlements (as of April 15, 2026) | More than $61 million paid to 317 survivors |
| Most Recent Development | 30 former football players, including three 1980 Rose Bowl team members, agreeing to join federal lawsuit (May 2026) |
| Public Plaintiffs | Al Washington, Ray Ellis, Keith Ferguson |
| Documentary Reference | Surviving Ohio State (2025) |
| Strauss’s Status | Died by suicide, August 2005; emeritus status revoked, 2019 |
The 67-year-old Al Washington claimed he was unable to watch the 2025 documentary Surviving Ohio State. He had to give up. He clarified that the pain on the screen just pulled too much back up. No court document could convey as much information about the ongoing harm as that particular detail. As you watch this play out, you get the impression that the documentary accomplished something that the attorneys and press releases were never able to do: it gave the silence a form that these men could at last point to.
For its part, Ohio State continues to use the same cautious language. The university claims it is still actively involved in mediation after reaching a settlement with 317 survivors for more than $61 million. Praesidium covers counseling. The organization maintains that it has changed significantly since Strauss’s time, and to be fair, that is most likely the case on paper.
However, the math is unsettling. In 2019, investigators came to the conclusion that Strauss had mistreated at least 177 men. Nearly in passing, the 2019 campus safety report mentioned 47 rapes and 1,430 separate cases of fondling that he was responsible for. The number of settlements continues to rise. The university doesn’t really address the obvious question raised by each new wave of plaintiffs: how many more are still out there, considering whether to come forward?
The question of who knew and when is another. By 1979, athletic officials reportedly realized that Strauss was performing unusually lengthy genital exams without the presence of staff. Former wrestlers have described Larkins Hall, the former physical education building, as a sexualized space with peepholes in the walls and voyeurs wandering around freely. According to reports, coach Russ Hellickson pleaded with the university to move his players. Up until 1996, nothing significant occurred. By that time, Strauss’s exam room had seen a whole generation of young men.
In the same way that Penn State’s Sandusky reckoning eventually faded from the news, it is possible that the Strauss case will eventually feel resolved. However, “possible” is not the same as “soon.” The narrative is slightly altered by each wave of survivors, and the university is dragged back into a courtroom that it would obviously prefer to stay out of. As the headline implies, the door is open. It remains to be seen if Ohio State can close it on its own terms.
