More than 100 former students have provided firsthand accounts of sexual misconduct by the now-dead Ohio State University team physician at the center of an ongoing investigation, the university said on Friday. Over 200 former students and university employees have been interviewed so far by independent investigators reviewing allegations against Richard Strauss involving male athletes from 14 sports as well as his work at the student health center and his off-campus medical office, said University President Michael Drake. Those interviewed include Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, who denies some wrestlers' claims that he knew about abuse when he was an assistant coach at Ohio State, per the AP.
Former athletes say they verbally raised concerns about Strauss as early as 1978, near the start of his two decades at the university. Ohio State has a record of at least one documented complaint against Strauss. Paperwork from 1995 shows the then-director of the student health center said a student's complaint about being inappropriately touched by Strauss during an exam was the first such complaint he'd received. Ohio State has urged anyone with information to contact the investigators from Seattle-based law firm Perkins Coie, which is looking into the allegations, what university officials knew, and how they responded to any concerns about Strauss.
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