Ohio State Approves $100 Million Settlement With 279 Richard Strauss Abuse Survivors

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Ohio State University has approved a $100 million settlement with 279 survivors who accused former university physician Richard Strauss of sexually abusing them decades ago, The Journal Gazette reported.

The agreement in principle resolves the claims of all but one of the 280 survivors who remained involved in the federal litigation. Ohio State’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the resolution on June 3, 2026.

The university and the survivors must still finalize the settlement details through an ongoing confidential mediation process. Once completed, the agreement would largely conclude an eight-year legal battle over Strauss’ abuse and Ohio State’s failure to stop it.

Ohio State Settlements Now Exceed $161 Million

Before approving the latest agreement, Ohio State had reached settlements with 317 Strauss survivors for more than $61 million.

The additional $100 million agreement brings the university’s total settlements to more than $161 million for 596 survivors.

Ohio State President Ravi Bellamkonda called the resolution an important step forward and thanked the survivors for coming forward.

“The survivors of the Strauss abuse are all Buckeyes, will always be a part of our family and our community,” Bellamkonda said during the trustees meeting. “We continue to be very grateful to them for their courage in coming forward.”

The university has faced federal lawsuits involving Strauss since 2018. The newly approved resolution authorizes Ohio State’s general counsel, with the required approval of the Ohio attorney general, to finalize the settlements with the participating plaintiffs.

Investigation Found Strauss Abused at Least 177 Men

Strauss worked as a physician for Ohio State’s athletic department and Student Health Center. He was employed by the university from 1978 until his retirement in 1998.

An independent investigation commissioned by Ohio State concluded in 2019 that Strauss sexually abused at least 177 male students and student-athletes between 1979 and 1996. Much of the abuse occurred under the guise of medical examinations.

The investigation also found that university employees knew about complaints and concerns surrounding Strauss for years but failed to investigate adequately or take meaningful action to protect students.

Strauss died by suicide in 2005 at age 67.

The 2025 HBO documentary Surviving Ohio State brought renewed national attention to the scandal by featuring firsthand accounts from male survivors and examining the institutional failures that allowed Strauss’ abuse to continue for years.

More than 500 men eventually filed lawsuits accusing Ohio State of displaying deliberate indifference to Strauss’ conduct. The plaintiffs included former wrestlers, football players and other student-athletes, as well as students who encountered Strauss through university health services.

Survivors Spent Years Demanding Accountability

Strauss survivors repeatedly called upon Ohio State to acknowledge what happened and accept responsibility for the institutional failures that allowed the abuse to continue.

Among those who spoke publicly were dozens of former Ohio State football players and former Columbus Division of Fire Chief Jeffrey Happ.

The litigation encountered years of disputes over whether survivors could pursue claims arising from abuse that happened decades earlier. Ohio State argued that many claims were barred by the statute of limitations, while survivors maintained that they did not learn until much later that university officials had known about Strauss’ conduct and failed to intervene.

In May 2026, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a motion on behalf of the university seeking the dismissal of 77 claims involving abuse allegedly committed before October 21, 1986. The motion raised legal questions about when public universities became subject to certain federal claims for failing to prevent sexual abuse.

The $100 million settlement could resolve nearly all of the cases affected by those continuing legal disputes.

Jim Jordan Has Denied Knowing About Strauss’ Abuse

Some Strauss survivors have alleged that U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan knew or should have known about the doctor’s misconduct while serving as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State from 1987 to 1995.

Jordan, an Ohio Republican, has repeatedly denied knowing that Strauss was sexually abusing athletes.

The independent investigation did not conclude that Jordan personally received or ignored a report of sexual abuse. It did, however, find that Strauss’ inappropriate conduct was widely discussed among athletes and that numerous university employees knew about concerns surrounding him.

Settlement Cannot Undo Decades of Harm

The agreement represents one of the largest institutional sexual abuse settlements involving a public university. It also demonstrates how long survivors may have to fight before an institution provides meaningful compensation or accepts responsibility for systemic failures.

Strauss’ abuse occurred over approximately two decades. Survivors then spent years pursuing answers, accountability and legal recognition of the harm they endured.

Financial compensation cannot reverse that harm. The settlement can, however, acknowledge that the abuse was not merely the isolated conduct of one physician. It continued within an institution where repeated warnings and complaints failed to produce meaningful intervention.