WHAT DID HE KNOW?

House Committee Examining Abuse Prevention Following Ohio State Sexual-Abuse Scandal: Report

The House Committee has reportedly begun looking into the larger issue of preventing abuse.

The House Committee on Education and Labor has begun looking into the larger issue of preventing abuse after a report alleges that a sports doctor at Ohio State University sexually abused at least 177 men. The abuse occurred while Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) was a assistant wrestling coach at the school. Several former Ohio State wrestlers claimed last year that Jordan knew, or must have known, about the inappropriate behavior allegedly taking place in the athletic department when he worked as a coach. Jordan is not named in a redacted report released Friday that details the abuse, a fact he’s pointed to as his vindication. “I think the report speaks for itself... It confirmed everything I have said all along,” Jordan told reporters. “You guys know me... If I thought one of our athletes was being harmed... I’d have done something.”

The congressman has previously acknowledged that he cooperated with investigators assembling the report, and maintained that he did not know the doctor, Richard Strauss, was allegedly abusing male athletes at the school. The report found that Strauss sexually abused men from 16 sports teams during his nearly 20 years at the school—and that school leaders were aware of the allegations. Strauss took his own life in 2005.