‘Surviving Ohio State' documentary gives chilling reminder of a ‘powerless' time

New York Times

30-06-2025

'How could this have happened?'
That question is at the center of 'Surviving Ohio State,' a documentary released June 17 on HBO and Max. The film, produced by George Clooney and directed by Academy Award- and Emmy Award-winning Eva Orner, gives voice to the victims of Dr. Richard Strauss, a physician employed by Ohio State from 1978 to 1998 who was accused of sexually abusing thousands of male students. The documentary is based on a 2020 story by Sports Illustrated reporter Jon Wertheim.
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Although the victims spanned many teams at the university, and also included students who weren't athletes, it was alumni members of the men's wrestling team who came forward in 2018. The nature of wrestling, with its emphasis on strength, coupled with the victims being male, made it hard for some people to understand how the abuse could have taken place.
'We were powerless,' Mark Coleman, a victim who went on to become the UFC's first heavyweight champion, said in the film. 'All I knew is that I wanted to be a national champion, and I wasn't gonna stir the f—–g pot with the big-time Ohio State University.'
A scandal decades in the making in Buckeye Nation.#SurvivingOhioState premieres June 17 on @StreamOnMax. pic.twitter.com/F0ARukqXoW
— HBO Documentaries (@HBODocs) June 5, 2025
The film examines the forces that allowed this abuse. Chief among them was the imbalance of power between Strauss and his victims. Strauss controlled their medical clearance, which meant athletes had to see him to compete.
Strauss, who was never charged with a crime, denied the allegations that were made during his time at Ohio State. He committed suicide in 2005 at 67.
'It was classic predator behavior,' Orner told The Athletic. 'If (the victims) did anything, they would have lost everything — and a lot of them did lose everything. A lot of them dropped out of college. A lot of them quit the team. Their whole life trajectory was changed.'
In examining the culture at Ohio State that allowed Strauss' abuse to continue for two decades, the film turned to the coaches of the victims, investigating what they knew and how they responded. The biggest name publicly associated with this story is Jim Jordan, a former assistant wrestling coach who is now a Republican congressman from Ohio.
At least seven victims, including some who hadn't spoken publicly until appearing in the documentary, have claimed Jordan knew of the abuse during his time at Ohio State. However, Jordan has repeatedly denied any knowledge of this.
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'Chairman Jordan never saw or heard of any abuse, and if he had, he would have dealt with it,' spokesperson Russell Dye said in an email to The Athletic.
Ohio State also defended the way it treated Strauss' victims.
'Ohio State led the effort to investigate and expose Richard Strauss, and we express our deep regret and apologies to all who experienced Strauss' abuse,' university chief spokesperson Benjamin Johnson said in an email to The Athletic. 'Since 2018, we have reached settlement agreements with more than half of the plaintiffs, 296 survivors, for more than $60 million. All male students who filed lawsuits have been offered the opportunity to settle.
'In addition, the university continues to cover the cost of professionally certified counseling services and other medical treatment, including reimbursement for counseling and treatment received in the past.'
Rocky Ratliff, a former member of the wrestling team, criticized Jordan's actions, saying they have focused on protecting Jordan's reputation rather than assisting those who were allegedly abused.
'These are guys that he sat on mom and dad's couch saying, 'Hey, we're going to protect your kid, bring him to Ohio State. We're going to make sure he graduates. We're going to make sure he has a great career,' ' Ratliff said. 'He recruited these guys, but not one of them has he picked up the phone to say, 'Hey, I saw your name. You supposedly got sexually abused at Ohio State?'
'He got a press firm to say he didn't know. Got a bunch of people to say he didn't know.'
While the documentary's release might prompt more questions for Jordan, many victims are still fighting to hold Ohio State accountable. Hundreds have settled lawsuits with Ohio State, but others are still mired in litigation.
'I don't think anyone expected it to go on this long, and it's incredibly painful,' Orner said. 'On the surface, OSU is saying they acknowledge what's happened. They've done an investigation, they have offered settlements, they offer counseling. They say this all the time. … But the problem is behind the scenes, they've gone all the way to the Supreme Court fighting this on statute of limitations. It's now going back to trial, and the settlements they've offered are problematic.'
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The documentary says that while the victims of Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse have received an average of $1.5 million from Penn State, and the victims of Larry Nassar's abuse have received an average of $1.2 million from Michigan State, the victims of Strauss' abuse who have settled with Ohio State have received an average of $250,000.
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In exploring the financial disparity, the film does note that Nassar is still alive while Strauss died 20 years ago. Still, the documentary makes the case that Strauss' victims have faced an uphill battle for respect and restitution.
'When the guys came out against Dr. Strauss,' Orner said, 'there was a level of them being vilified and questioned and being made fun of.'
The documentary asks whether that doubt and lack of understanding — illustrated through toxic social media posts that followed the wrestling team coming forward in 2018 — has empowered Ohio State to offer less money than they would have provided female victims.
'(The victims) all consider themselves still Buckeyes, and I think that's what hurts them so much,' Orner said. 'They spent some of the best years of their lives competing for this university, and now this university is treating them in a way that's hurting them enormously.'
As one man in the film, Stephen Snyder-Hill, put it: 'I'm a survivor of sexual assault, but I'm a victim of OSU.'
(Photo courtesy of HBO)