Referee claims he told Jordan about Ohio State doctor’s misconduct

A new lawsuit reportedly claims that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was told directly about misconduct by disgraced doctor Richard Strauss when Jordan was an assistant coach at Ohio State University. 

A referee, identified as John Doe 42, filed the lawsuit Thursday in which he claims he reported to Jordan an incident in which Strauss masturbated in front of him in a shower after a wrestling match, according to NBC News. 

{mosads}The suit reportedly said that Jordan and then-head coach Russ Hellickson said in response, “Yeah, that’s Strauss.”

John Doe 42 is the second person to say they directly told Jordan about Strauss’s actions, according to NBC. An independent investigation found that the doctor sexually abused 177 male students. 

Several former Ohio State students have accused Jordan of knowing about what occurred. Jordan has vehemently denied knowledge.

He told Fox News last year that the allegations were “false” and called the timing of the claims “suspect.”

“Conversations in a locker room are a lot different than allegations of abuse or reported abuse,” he said. “No one ever reported any abuse to me.”

A spokesman for Jordan said the Ohio Republican “never saw or heard of any kind of sexual abuse, and if he had he would’ve dealt with it. Multiple investigations have confirmed this simple fact.”

John Doe 42 told NBC News, “It was common knowledge what Strauss was doing so the attitude was it is what it is.”

“I wish Jim, and Russ, too, would stand up and do the right thing and admit they knew what Strauss was doing, because everybody knew what he was doing to the wrestlers. What was a shock to me is that Strauss tried to do that to me. He was breaking new ground by going after a ref,” the person added. 

Ohio State University spokesman Ben Johnson told NBC that the university was leading the effort to investigate Strauss’s misconduct and failures to respond. 

“The university is actively participating in good faith in the mediation process directed by the federal court,” Johnson said. “In addition, since February, Ohio State has been covering the cost of professionally certified counseling services and treatment for anyone affected, as well as reimbursing costs for counseling already received.”

—Updated at 9:07 p.m.