The new documentary detailing the longtime sexual abuse of student-athletes by a school doctor whose misdeeds were well known is, at times, stomach-turning.
“Growing up in Ohio, everyone wants to be a Buckeye.”
So goes the opening line of the eye-opening, jaw-dropping, incredibly infuriating HBO documentary Surviving Ohio State.
The investigating retelling of sexual abuse at one of the nation’s top sporting schools is reigniting scrutiny over one of the most disturbing scandals in U.S. collegiate history — alleging that Ohio State University attempted to cover up decades of abuse by former physician Dr. Richard Strauss, and failed to compensate survivors adequately.
Produced by George Clooney, the film centers on the stories of men who say Strauss abused them while he was employed at OSU from 1978 to 1998. Strauss died by suicide in 2005.
Through a series of harrowing interviews, it details how Strauss conducted unnecessary and invasive genital exams, often without gloves and, in some cases, while the lights were off.
Survivors described his behavior as predatory and humiliating. Some coaches, including former OSU wrestling coach Russ Hellickson and Jim Jordan, now a Republican U.S. representative and ardent Trump supporter who served as an assistant coach at the time, are accused of knowing about the abuse and doing nothing.
Both declined to be interviewed for the film.
Wrestlers and a former referee told filmmakers they had personally informed Jordan of Strauss’ misconduct. Dan Ritchie, a former OSU wrestler, recalled a conversation in which Jordan allegedly remarked he wouldn’t let Strauss abuse him. Another referee, Frederick Feeney, described a disturbing locker room encounter and said Jordan dismissed his report by saying, “It’s Strauss; you know what he does.”
Jordan has repeatedly denied any knowledge of the abuse. His spokesperson reiterated following the release of the documentary that Jordan “never saw or heard of any abuse.”
The film also criticizes the university’s internal response. Former fencing coach Charlotte Remenyik reported Strauss after a student recounted being subjected to a genital exam for a bleeding ear. Her complaints, according to the film, were dismissed as hearsay unless a student stepped forward.
Despite an investigation by the law firm Perkins Coie launched in 2018, the film suggests a pattern of institutional failure. In one scene, survivor Steve Snyder-Hill describes how he was told by a senior health official that Strauss had no prior abuse allegations — a claim later proven false.
The documentary underscores the disparity in settlements between OSU and other schools with high-profile abuse cases. Ohio State has paid out an average of $250,000 per survivor. By contrast, Penn State paid roughly $1.5 million, and Michigan State paid $1.2 million per survivor in the Sandusky and Nassar scandals, respectively.
In 2023, Ohio State appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to have certain lawsuits dismissed based on the statute of limitations. The court declined to hear the case, allowing over 230 plaintiffs to move forward. A trial could begin as early as 2026.
“We express our deep regret and apologies to all who experienced Strauss’ abuse,” OSU spokesman Ben Johnson said in a June 3 statement. Survivors, however, remain unconvinced. “I’m a survivor of sexual assault,” Snyder-Hill says in the film. “But I’m a victim of OSU.”
