The Ohio State Board of Trustees acknowledged for the first time that it will reach a monetary settlement with men claiming abuse by a longtime team doctor, as three accusers addressed the board on Thursday.
“I want to reiterate that we are dedicated to a fair outcome,” board chair Gary Heminger told the audience. “To be clear, this means that Ohio State is committed to a monetary resolution.”
The trustees then turned and sat rapt as Dan Ritchie, Mike Schick and Brian Garrett gave remarks. The men say university authorities turned a blind eye to doctor Richard Strauss decades ago, while school leaders today have moved too slowly in making amends.
Schick, a former wrestler, choked up telling the board that he bleeds scarlet and grey. Schick says he feels as though he’s outside looking in as the school’s wrestling program grows.
“And I want to be a part of that,” Schick said. “And since this has all come out two years ago, I almost feel like I’m not a victim I was the problem. I’m not the problem, we weren’t the problem. Some bad man was the problem.”
Ritchie wrestled for Ohio State as well, and said he’s frustrated with people wondering why he and others didn’t speak out about Strauss when the abuse was occurring.
"The fact is we did,” Ritchie said. “We openly complained about the abuses and the actions of Dr. Strauss and the deviant culture within Larkins Hall."
Garrett offered the most pointed critique of the group, saying he’s glad university president Michael Drake is stepping down. Drake announced Thursday morning that he would retire late next year.
Garrett that argued school officials have attempted to stymie a legislative effort to allow survivors to seek damages, and that leaders’ public comments on Strauss “only make things worse.”
“Please stop calling us victims, and please call us what you think we really are, which are liabilities,” Garrett said. “You just see us as potential liablities on your balance sheet.”
The university contends it is working toward a fair conclusion in mediation and that it has already made counseling available for every survivor for as long as needed.
More than 300 men have joined lawsuits against Ohio State, claiming it knew about and failed to stop abuse by Strauss, who worked at the school from the 1970s-90s. Strauss died in 2005.
