Thirty-seven former Ohio State athletes have filed a lawsuit against the university involving Doctor Richard Strauss.
Strauss is the former Ohio State doctor accused of sexually abusing as many as 177 students during his two decades at the university.
Strauss died by suicide in 2005 and was never prosecuted for his alleged crimes.
Nearly all the names inside the new lawsuit are listed as John Does. Former wrestler Michael DiSabato was the only named plaintiff.
This lawsuit, filed by Dayton attorney Michael Wright, includes statements from football players who claim they repeatedly told team trainer Billy Hill about Strauss and "nothing was done."
John Doe No.10 played football from 1994 - 1998. The lawsuit states at some point during his time with the team, he "reported (Strauss') behavior to trainer Bill Hill. Hill did not inform John Doe No. 10 that Strauss' conduct was medically improper or sexually abusive."
Another football player, John Doe No.16, states "Strauss' groping and fondling upset him to the point he has not gotten another physical since 1992."
The lawsuit states members of the football team began to call Strauss " Dr. Drop Your Drawers" because of his "overly aggressive" physicals.
A majority of John Does in the new lawsuit were former football players. The rest are comprised of athletes from other sports including wrestling and swimming.
John Doe No.7 who swam for the school from 1980-1985 estimated Strauss sexually abused him "25 times out of 30 doctor's appointments."
John Doe No. 19, a wrestler from 1983-1994, is quoted in the lawsuit claiming he was "regularly propositioned in the showers of Larkins Hall by voyeurs and found notes in his locker room asking him to meet up for sex. When he complained to an assistant coach about the constant sexual harassment in Larkins Hall, he was told: 'grow up.'"
The lawsuit claims former wrestling coach Russ Hellickson "repeatedly complained to OSU administrators about the environment in Larkins Hall because the conditions seriously impacted the psyche and morale of his wrestlers."
Hellickson reportedly requested "a separate team shower area." The lawsuit says "OSU denied the request."
The lawsuit reports Hellickson, " begged to have the wrestling team moved to another building. The lawsuit says "OSU denied his request."
The lawsuit says "Larkins Hall became an unsafe space and sexually hostile environment for wrestlers and some other male athletes."
The lawsuit claims as early as 1979, officials "had information indicating Strauss posed a substantial risk of sexual abuse to male athletes...however OSU dismissed, disregarded, minimized, refuted, denied, silenced and even concealed complaints about Strauss sexual misconduct."
The lawsuit - like others - alleges that Ohio State turned a blind eye to the alleged abuse and that many of these student-athletes were subjected to prolonged genital exams by Strauss, which they deemed to be inappropriate.
At least fourteen of the former football players told the late trainer Billy Hill – who died in 1995 – that Strauss had abused them. The lawsuit alleges that Hill brushed off their concerns.
One athlete said he was asked by Strauss if he liked what Strauss was doing to him. Another said he got a genital exam when he sought treatment for a common cold.
This latest lawsuit was filed on the same day that a working group impaneled by Gov. Mike DeWine met hoping to learn what information the state medical board may have possessed on Dr. Richard Strauss – a former university physician accused of sexually abusing 177 students – and if the medical board did enough to investigate and act on Strauss.
The group met Wednesday morning for the first time. Only a portion of the meeting was open to reporters.
Chair Tom Stickrath, who also serves as the Director of the Department of Public Safety, said the group’s task has been defined by Gov. DeWine but that their responsibilities may grow as they begin to investigate the issues surrounding Dr. Richard Strauss. The working group has a report due on August 1.
“Did they withhold information… what should they have had, what did they have, what did (the state medical board) do with what they had, what should they have done,” Stickrath told reporters.
A university investigative group with Perkins & Coie, which was hired by Ohio State University, released a report this month finding that Strauss abused 177 students through his work as an athletic team physician and separately with his practice at the student health center.
The report also detailed that OSU knew about concerns with Strauss as early as 1979 but failed to act until 1996, when Strauss was removed from his role at the student health center after three students came forward in 1995 and 1996 claiming that their medical exams were inappropriate.
10TV reached out to the state medical board, which said it supports the efforts of the working group.
“The Medical Board supports the working group and is eager to provide whatever information the group may need to accomplish their stated objectives. The Medical Board has already provided the working group with the full and unredacted investigation files; the exact same files Ohio State received last year. The Medical Board stands ready to accept the analysis and results of the working group in order to continually improve processes and support its mission to protect the health and safety of Ohioans.”
To read the entire lawsuit, click here.