Mike Schyck, survivor of Richard Strauss’ abuse, speaks to the media after his statement to the full Board of Trustees Nov. 21, 2o19. Credit: Lantern File Photo.
Content warning: This story contains graphic references to sexual assault and abuse.
“Felt uncomfortable.”
“Pressed erection against me.”
“Couldn’t even look him in the eye.”
These are just a few of the phrases Stephen Snyder-Hill used in a formal complaint to Student Health Services in 1995 to describe what happened to him during a medical exam with former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss.
Snyder-Hill said he then had a two-hour meeting with Strauss and Dr. Ted Grace, the then-director of Student Health Services. During that meeting, he said Strauss yelled at him and “denied wrongdoing.” He said Grace believed Strauss over him.
“I was told by your staff that I was confused and mistaken about what had happened,” Snyder-Hill said.
Snyder-Hill and two other victims of Strauss’ sexual abuse addressed Ohio State’s full Board of Trustees Thursday, saying the university decades ago and the university today are not that different. From policies to the university’s lack of accountability, they all said nothing has changed.
Strauss was the team doctor for 17 varsity sports and a physician at the university’s Student Wellness Center from 1978-98. An independent investigation in May 2019 found that Strauss abused at least 177 students and student-athletes during his tenure and that Ohio State failed to act.
Strauss died by suicide in 2005.
“I am deeply sorry for what you have been through,” University President Kristina M. Johnson said at the meeting. “What Richard Strauss did is reprehensible, and the university’s failure to act at the time is totally unacceptable. I know that Ohio State has worked hard to address the wrongs of the past.”
But the three victims at the meeting pointed to ways in which they said the “university of today” continues to fail Strauss victims and their families.
Mike Schyck, an Ohio State wrestler from 1988-93 and an assistant wrestling coach from 1993-96, said he was confronted by the current university’s lack of support the first time he spoke publicly about his abuse at a full Board meeting in 2018.
He said after he spoke, former University President Michael V. Drake walked up to him and shook his hand. He said Drake apologized and promised to “make this right.”
Schyck said that just the week before, the university filed a motion to dismiss his and other victims’ case because the two-year statute of limitations had passed.
“(It’s) window dressing to create the perception that you all are working in good faith to do the right thing for all your students,” Schyck said. “But behind closed doors — so the public won’t see — you’re doing just the opposite.”
He said the university’s “restorative justice” for the victims of Strauss’ sexual abuse through financial compensation is not nearly enough, both as a form of justice and in comparison to similar incidents of sexual abuse at other universities.
The university has settled with 185 victims of Strauss’ sexual abuse for a total of $46.7 million. In May, it reached a $40.6 million settlement with 162 victims in 12 Strauss-related lawsuits, and it settled with 23 more victims in October. If it were to be allocated equally, each victim would receive about $252,000.
By comparison, in 2018, Michigan State settled with 332 victims of Larry Nassar for $425 million with an additional $75 million allocated for future claims. If allocated evenly, each of Nassar’s victims — all women and girls — would have received nearly $1.3 million.
“Why do you feel the damage that Dr. Strauss did to us is any different than what Larry Nassar did to the girls of MSU?” Schyck said. “What was done to each of us was no different, and the damage and harm is no different.”
Snyder-Hill also said the university is not committed to restorative justice and that it continues to retraumatize Strauss victims. He pointed to a special master’s September ruling that the university violated public records law by withholding Snyder-Hill’s records for five months with no legal standing for doing so.
In its response to the court, the university said it chose to hold the records to prevent the piece-by-piece “disclosure of information that could subject survivors to unnecessary re-traumatization or have a chilling effect on their participation with the investigation.”
At the same time it delayed fulfilling his request, Snyder-Hill said the university released bits of Strauss’ personnel records to the public — which contained “exemplary reviews” that did not mention his sexual abuse.
“What did you think that releasing that file did to survivors like me? I want you to stop and think about what that did to us,” Snyder-Hill said. “I can tell you that it made the public doubt us, but maybe that was your intention.”
Schyck said he has seen the effects the past three years have had on fellow victims. In his own life, he said both the sexual abuse and the trauma that came with realizing it as abuse as an adult has led to depression, anxiety, lost wages and other issues.
“You know my story is not singular. You need to understand that this Board’s inaction and the university’s constant demand to have our case thrown out of court is causing more and more damage by the day.”
For Nick Nutter, the third victim who spoke before the Board Thursday, he said the past three years have been the “worst three years” of his life. Nutter was an Ohio State wrestler from 1992-97 and said he experienced Strauss’ abuse daily while at Ohio State.
Strauss’ personal locker was just a few away from Nutter’s, and Nutter said each day after showering with the team, Strauss would “accidentally” bump against Nutter while naked.
“That was the most benign thing that ever happened,” Nutter said.
Like Scyhck, Nutter said his health has deteriorated since Strauss’ sexual abuse has publicly unfolded. He said he has seen other victims deal with alcohol abuse, drug abuse, suicide attempts and even heart attacks as mediation with the university continues.
He said although the sexual abuse he endured was painful, what hurts him more is what he said was the university’s betrayal.
“I experienced betrayal with the university of the old, and I’m still feeling the pain of betrayal with the university of today,” Nutter said. “I wish you guys loved us as much as we love you.”
