A seventh former Ohio State University wrestler came forward Saturday with claims that Rep. Jim Jordan James (Jim) Daniel JordanSeventh former Ohio State wrestler claims Jordan knew of alleged sexual abuse Paul Ryan ‘will await the findings’ of Jim Jordan investigation Jordan denies knowing of alleged Ohio State abuse, calls timing of claims 'suspect' MORE (R-Ohio) knew about alleged sexual abuse taking place on the wrestling team while he was an assistant coach.
David Range told The Washington Post that Jordan must have known about the alleged sexual abuse by athletic doctor Richard Strauss because it happened regularly and was often discussed.
“Jordan definitely knew that these things were happening — yes, most definitely,” Range told the newspaper. “It was there. He knew about it because it was an everyday occurrence.”
The former wrestler said he did not talk about the alleged abuse with Jordan directly and was unaware of any formal reports made about it. He said the lawmaker was in the locker room during conversations about the topic.
“We talked about it all the time in the locker room” with Jordan present, Range told the Post. “Everybody joked about it and talked about it all the time.”
Jordan has denied any knowledge of the alleged abuse since former wrestlers first told NBC News in a report published Tuesday that Jordan was aware of Strauss’s behavior. Strauss killed himself in 2005.
Jordan told Fox News’s Bret Baier Friday that the allegations are “false” and called the timing of the claims “suspect,” as he makes a bid to become the next Speaker of the House.
“Conversations in a locker room are a lot different than allegations of abuse or reported abuse,” the lawmaker said Friday, adding that “no one ever reported any abuse to me.”
Jordan also called into question the character of two of the former wrestlers during the Friday interview, saying one — Mike DiSabato — has a “vendetta” against him and the university.
The Post reported on Saturday that two former Ohio State wrestlers defended Jordan, saying they believed he was unaware of the allegations.
“It’s way more likely that [he] didn’t know than did know,” one of the ex-wrestlers told the newspaper. “We were so guarded around these guys. ... I think the only reason he’s being dragged into it is because of his political stature, and I think that’s terrible.”
orgngrndr01 on July 8th, 2018 at 16:52 UTC »
While this has nothing to do with the Mueller investigation outside of the credibility of one of its fiercest critics, this will not be swept under the rug.
After the Penn St scandal, the University paid out millions of dollars in claims, after the US Gymnastics scandal, USOC and Gymnastic federations all had official resign,and will pay millions in claims, and indeed, after the USC medical scandal, USC is setting aside millions fd dollars for future settlements.
Ohio St. is getting ahead of the curve. It has hired a really expensive law firm to find out the facts behind this.
It is doing so, not to protect the wrestler or Jim Jordan, but to protect itself, its interests, future young athletes and the University's reputation. If Jim Jorden is lying, it wont be long until the fact are known and while the University is doing this in private, the results may be subject to its own internal investigation and any criminal or civil investigation.
If Jim Jordan hope this goes away be denying everything, he may be in for a big fat surprise. and the possibility of telling everything he knows are claims not to know, under oath.
election_info_bot on July 8th, 2018 at 14:47 UTC »
Ohio 2018 Election
General Election Registration Deadline: October 9, 2018
General Election: November 6, 2018
Check your registration
shayne1987 on July 8th, 2018 at 14:43 UTC »
Lived in Jordan's district for years.
No one there cares, he knows that, he'll be re-elected pretty easily.