Ohio State University Agrees to $100 Million Settlement in Longrunning Richard Strauss Abuse Cases

Ohio State University has agreed to pay $100 million to 279 former students who said they were sexually abused by former campus doctor Richard Strauss, marking one of the largest settlements yet in the yearslong legal battle over allegations that university officials failed to stop decades of abuse.

The agreement leaves only one plaintiff from five active federal lawsuits who has not joined the settlement, according to a joint statement from the university and attorneys representing the former students reported by NBC News.

A court-appointed special master is expected to interview survivors in the coming weeks to determine individual compensation amounts based on the level of harm suffered.

"The survivors of the Strauss abuse are all Buckeyes," Ohio State President Ravi Bellamkonda said at a university board meeting Wednesday. "We continue to be very grateful to them for their courage in coming forward."

The latest agreement follows previous settlements totaling more than $61 million paid to 317 other survivors. Ohio State and its former president have publicly apologized to victims abused by Strauss, who died by suicide in 2005.

The lawsuits stem from allegations that Strauss sexually abused male athletes and students from the mid-1970s through the late 1990s under the guise of medical examinations and required physicals. An independent investigation conducted by the law firm Perkins Coie concluded in 2019 that Strauss abused at least 177 students and athletes and that university officials were aware of complaints for years but failed to intervene.

The litigation expanded in 2024 when 30 former Ohio State football players, including several former NFL athletes, joined the broader class action effort. Former linebacker Al Washington said he stayed silent for years despite the abuse. "I love Ohio State, but I want Ohio State to take some accountability for what happened to us," he said at the time.

The legal battle also survived a major challenge in 2022, when a federal appeals court revived claims previously dismissed on statute-of-limitations grounds. The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that plaintiffs had "plausibly" alleged a long-running cover-up and could not reasonably have understood the extent of the university's alleged role until the allegations became public in 2018.

The scandal has also drawn political attention because several former wrestlers accused Rep. Jim Jordan, then an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State, of failing to act despite knowing about Strauss' conduct. Jordan has repeatedly denied having any knowledge of the abuse.

Deposition transcripts released last month showed former athletic director Andy Geiger testified that Jordan "probably knew" Strauss was abusing wrestlers. Jordan's own deposition testimony remains under seal.