‘Surviving Ohio State’ is difficult to watch, but the survivors deserve for us to bear witness

Content warning: This story, and the ‘Surviving Ohio State’ documentary, contain references to and descriptions of sexual abuse and assault that may be disturbing for readers and viewers.

I’ve lived in the Atlanta metro area for almost 20 years, but I’m an Ohio State fan, born and bred. I learned the words to Carmen Ohio around the time I learned to talk. When I was a kid, I was allowed to say the word “damn,” but only if I was proclaiming that I don’t give a damn about the whole state of Michigan. Before my daughters could pronounce the words “Go Bucks,” they were yelling “Doh Butts” every Saturday in the fall, which is close enough when you’re indoctrinating your toddlers with your sports fandom.

But one side effect of working in this field is: The need to be objective tends to drain the homerism out of you. I still love the Ohio State Buckeyes. I yell “O-H” at every stranger I see wearing an Ohio State shirt, no matter where I am, and I love getting that “I-O” back — it feels like home. Watching the Buckeyes roll through the postseason to win the first NCAA football National Championship of the expanded College Football Playoff era was a balm for my soul right after my dad passed away in January.

But over the course of my career I’ve learned to balance the joys of sports against the issues that are larger than sports. When it comes to the Buckeyes, the biggest issue for me for the past few years has been the absolute rage I’m experiencing over the abuse endured by Ohio State athletes from Dr. Richard Strauss, and the university and public’s reaction to it.

HBO released a documentary Tuesday called ‘Surviving Ohio State’, and it’s a must-watch, even though it’s far from an easy watch.

Here are six things you need to know about ‘Surviving Ohio State’ and the surrounding scandal.

Ohio State knew everything, and they covered it up

One aspect of this story that the documentary lays bare is exactly how many opportunities Ohio State had to protect student-athletes, and how many times they failed Strauss’s survivors.

When student-athletes received exams or treatment from Strauss, even if the issue was a separated shoulder for a wrestler or a cut on a fencer’s ear, the exam would include a genital exam. Some players hadn’t really had physicals before and didn’t know what to expect. Others had a feeling that it was wrong, but feared challenging Strauss — widely respected in his field and at Ohio State University — would jeopardize their scholarships or ability to participate in their respective sports. When athletes did mention being uncomfortable with Strauss and his approach to authority figures like then-wrestling coach Russ Hellickson and assistant-coach-turned-Senator Jim Jordan, the general response was basically a shrug — because it wasn’t a surprise to them.

When complaints were made, nobody asked the student-athletes about them. Nobody talked to the coaches or the trainers. There was no effort made to protect student-athletes. Period.

And it seems that Strauss, renowned for his expertise on anabolic steroids, may have been juicing athletes without their explicit knowledge, understanding or approval, giving him another layer of power over these students. It’s hard for survivors to speak up; it’s even harder to challenge the behavior of a predator in a position of authority and power when that person literally holds your athletic eligibility in their hands.

Instead of taking this seriously and removing Strauss from a position of power over these athletes, the University allowed him to also practice at the student health center, where he could prey on students who weren’t athletes, too. Ohio State’s own investigation uncovered 177 male students who are survivors of Strauss, and it determined the University was aware of what Strauss was doing and did absolutely nothing to stop it, which allowed the total number of survivors to reach a staggering 2,800.

From the report:

Ohio State condemns Strauss’ reprehensible conduct and the university’s failure at the time to prevent the abuse. Ohio State has expressed and continues to express regret and sincere apologies to each person impacted by Strauss’ abuse and thanks the survivors for courageously bringing Strauss’ abuse to light.

And despite Ohio State acknowledging the university’s failures here, they pushed for the survivors’ lawsuit to be dropped based on the statute of limitations. The court ruled against that, so the civil suit continues.

Some survivors have settled, and many have a Most Favored Nations clause in their settlement agreements that guarantees if other survivors receive a higher settlement, the university will have to pay the survivors with that clause the difference between their initial settlement and the higher settlement amount received by other survivors. That’s why continuing to push for a fair settlement from the university is so important, in addition to coming up with an amount that’s actually a deterrent to prevent Ohio State from turning a blind eye to abuse ever again.

Fencing coach Charlotte Reminyik was the exception

Reminyik, who was a Hungarian-born fencing champion, became Ohio State’s women’s fencing coach in 1978 and later took on the men’s head coaching role too. She tried for about a decade to get the university to do something about the abuse Strauss was inflicting on student-athletes.

Male fencers had approached her about inappropriate behavior and exams from Strauss, and she did the right thing and reported it — only to be told that it was hearsay, and they needed proof to take action. Student-athletes had a variety of reasons to not want to come forward — not the least of which was the fear of losing their scholarships — but that didn’t stop Reminyik from continuing to escalate these reports to the Athletic Directors on a regular basis.

John Lombardo, who was the medical director of the OSU Sports Medicine Center and head team physician and medical director for the OSU Athletic Department, said Reminyik’s ongoing pursuit of consequences for Strauss amounted to 10 years of complaints “with no foundation.” He shared under oath during a deposition that he did have a responsibility to keep student-athletes safe. He didn’t do that. Nobody at Ohio State did.

It wasn’t just wrestlers who survived Strauss’ abuse

As I mentioned previously, not only did Ohio State fail to stop Strauss, they promoted him and let him see patients at Ohio State’s student health center. Stephen Snyder-Hill went to the health center to get a lump on his chest checked out, and during the exam, Strauss exhibited extremely inappropriate sexual behavior. Snyder-Hill reported it — since he wasn’t a student-athlete, Strauss didn’t have the same power over him.

There was a meeting with Student Services, Snyder-Hill and Strauss, in which Strauss dramatically denied the allegations and gaslit Snyder-Hill into questioning his memory of his own experience. Snyder-Hill agreed to drop the complaint if there weren’t any other similar complaints about Strauss. Of course there were, but Student Services lied to Snyder-Hill about it. He asked for written confirmation, and even though they seemed to balk at first, the university did give it to him — etching that lie into history. Meanwhile, Strauss was never reported to the medical board, but Strauss did report Dr. Ted Grace, who was then the Director of Student Health Services at Ohio State, to the medical board for questioning whether or not Strauss was abusing patients.

Strauss had lockers in various sports’ locker rooms, and worked with athletes from a variety of sports, including hockey. Former OSU hockey player Al Novakowski, who participated in the documentary, was assaulted by Strauss as a student-athlete, and the emotional and mental health impact on him led to him being kicked off the team. He also was drugged and sexually assaulted by Strauss after going to the student health center and being treated by him once again.

Wrestling official Frederick Feeney shared in the documentary that he, too, is a survivor of Strauss’s sexual assault and harassment. After officiating a match, Feeney went to the locker room to shower before leaving, and Strauss was, once again, extremely sexually inappropriate, following Feeney to the shower, taking the shower immediately next to Feeney in an otherwise empty room, and then masturbating and inappropriately touching Feeney. When Feeney spoke to wrestling coaches Hellickson and Jordan, they simply said, “It’s Strauss,” and shrugged it off.

Strauss had zero remorse

Strauss died by suicide in 2005. Lest you think this was a result of a guilty conscience, Strauss’ reason was pain that was not well controlled by medication and was not consistent with the quality of life he wanted.

I don’t know if Strauss being remorseful would have made a difference for the survivors, but his lack of remorse is frankly disgusting, and in my opinion, speaks to what an unrepentant predator he was.

Survivors are not defined by the abuse they endured

The men who have been courageous enough to stand up for themselves and share their truth about the abuse they suffered at Ohio State have been on the wrong end of some terrible hate for coming forward. These men were groomed, they were preyed upon, they trusted a man and an institution they should have been able to trust, and they are the victims of crimes. What was done to them does not define them.

I asked Mike DiSabato, the original whistleblower, what he wanted to know about him as a man, as a person outside of his push for justice for himself and the other survivors.

“I want them to know that I will never take a knee,” he said. “I will never take a knee to evil and injustice ever. Ever.”

DiSabato also shared a statement with SB Nation that he posted on his Facebook page when the documentary was released.

The photo, and the photo credit, are especially poignant to me for two reasons: One, these men were boys when this abuse was inflicted upon them. Men’s frontal lobes don’t even fully develop until they’re in their mid-20s.

And two, the fact that their abuser took this photo illustrates how Strauss worked to groom these young men. He treated them like they were special to him. He flattered them. He did everything he could to earn their trust and prey upon them. They didn’t have any specialized medical knowledge. They had no way to know if what Strauss was doing during exams had a legitimate medical purpose. Sexual abuse is about control, and Strauss was in a position to exploit that. He pulled out all the stops to manipulate these men, and the university enabled him. It’s his fault, and it’s the university’s fault for enabling it. It is not the fault of the survivors and it does not define who they are.

The survivors should be permitted to seek damages for emotional distress

Rocky Ratliff, an Ohio State wrestling alumnus, a friend from my hometown of Marion, Oh., and one of the survivors, shared on his personal Facebook that the court ruled on Wednesday the survivors cannot seek emotional damages.

As you watch the documentary, as you see the anguish these men still experience when they talk about the abuse they’ve endured, as you watch Ratliff explain that the group of survivors has a high divorce rate, many survivors have experienced suicidal ideation, and alcohol use as self-medication is prevalent — ask yourself if the abuse these men suffered at the hands of Strauss caused any emotional distress. The answer is obvious.

Not only did the university they love — the university I also love — fail them. But for the wrestlers, the coaches they respected and saw as family, Russ Hellickson and Jim Jordan failed them too with their cowardice. Hellickson was encouraging when they first came forward, but Jordan fake newsed the whole thing from jump and even tried to get survivor Mike DiSabato’s brother, Andy, to publicly support Jordan over the survivors, and Hellickson ghosted survivors after meeting with his former wrestlers and promising his support. That, on top of the impact of the abuse, was traumatic. Because of their courage in coming forward, these survivors have been subjected to disbelief and endless victim blaming, not to mention homophobia. Of course there’s a lasting emotional impact, and they should be compensated for that.

Even though Ohio State has admitted responsibility and acknowledged its failure to protect these students, the settlement offer from the university was insulting, especially in the context of recent settlements for sexual assault and abuse cases at Michigan State (Larry Nassar) and Penn State University (Jerry Sandusky). Michigan State settled with about $1.2 million per survivor, and Penn State settled with $1.5 million per survivor. Ohio State’s $41 million settlement pot averages out to about $250,000 per survivor. And a condition of the settlement would have essentially been absolving Ohio State of any guilt or responsibility.

It’s not about the amount of money so much as it’s about making sure this never happens again. Ohio State promised to do right by these survivors, and it hasn’t. The athletic department brought in over $250 million in revenue in 2024 and $293 million in 2023. I’d expect revenue to be particularly strong this year given the Buckeyes’ football National Championship win. There is no living perpetrator to hold accountable for these crimes, so the university must be accountable. A $250,000 settlement for the abuse they endured and the decades-long impact it’s had on their lives is chump change. These survivors deserve better.

“I bleed scarlet and gray,” survivor Mike Schyck says in the documentary. “But we were let down by this university.”

And that’s my main takeaway from Surviving Ohio State. The survivors were let down by Ohio State. They deserved to be protected by the university. They deserved to be believed when they raised concerns and reported Strauss’ behavior. They deserved to be supported by the university. And since none of that happened, now they deserve accountability from Ohio State. A fair settlement is the closest thing to justice available to the survivors with Strauss dead now for 20 years.

No matter what happens with the ongoing lawsuit, regardless of how terribly Ohio State and so many people in positions of authority handled this situation, the courage of these survivors will help protect other people from similar abuse. I sincerely hope that standing in their truth brings all of these survivors some peace.

‘Surviving Ohio State’ premiered Tuesday, June 17 at 9 p.m. and is available for streaming on HBO MAX.