Adam DiSabato, a former Ohio State University wrestling team captain, said during a State House bill hearing Tuesday that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) called him “crying,” begging him to deny that Jordan and other team officials were aware that open-shower team facilities facilitated sexual assault. DiSabato told members of the House Civil Justice Committee that Jordan called him repeatedly in 2018 after his brother, Michael DiSabato, publicly claimed that the sexual abuse of late team doctor Richard Strauss was common knowledge to those in the wrestling program, including Jordan. “Jim Jordan called me crying, groveling… begging me to go against my brother…That’s the kind of cover-up that’s going on there,” said DiSabato, who is among the former university wrestlers who have sued the school alleging it ignored Strauss’ abuse. Jordan was an assistant coach for the OSU wrestling team from 1987 to 1995 and has consistently denied claims that he knew about the sexual misconduct at university facilities. 

Jordan’s spokesman Ian Fury called DiSabato’s testimony “another lie.” DiSabato was appearing on Tuesday as a witness for hearings on a bill that would allow the doctor’s victims to sue OSU for damages by waiving the statute of limitations for the case. A university investigation released last May found that Strauss abused at least 177 young men between 1979 and 1998. He was never charged and killed himself in 2005. Jordan, a ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, is a fierce defender and ally of President Trump.