Letters sent to the NCAA and Big Ten asking the organizations to investigate complicity in former university physician Dr. Richard Strauss’s sexual abuse of students and student athletes has gained 27,000 supporting signatures. Credit: Lantern File Photo
The first time Mike Schyck spoke publicly about his abuse by former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss, it was November 2018, at a Board of Trustees meeting filled with university administrators and the press.
“It was hard for me to do,” Schyck said. “Because I had some accomplishments at Ohio State, and being an athlete and doing what I did, I almost felt like I was going to jeopardize that — my standing with the Ohio State community.”
Nearly two years after that meeting and nine days after sending letters to the NCAA and Big Ten, Schyck and other Strauss victims are asking the organizations again to investigate Ohio State’s complicity in the abuse — now with more than 27,000 people behind them.
Several Strauss victims started a petition after sending letters to the organizations Oct. 14 asking for accountability for Ohio State and its role in allowing Strauss to sexually assault student-athletes for decades. At the time of publication, the petition had more than 27,100 signatures.
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.
The university referred The Lantern to an Oct. 13 press release announcing a $5.8 million settlement with 23 additional victims. The new settlement adds to the 162 victims who settled with the university in May, bringing the total settlement amount to $46.7 million.
Victims have pointed to previous NCAA and Big Ten investigations into similar sexual abuse at other universities as precedent for their requests. In 2012, the NCAA imposed sanctions on Penn State University for its failure to stop Jerry Sandusky’s molestation of underage boys while he was football coach. The sanctions included a $60 million fine, a four-year ban on playing in bowl games and a five-year probation.
Similarly, the Big Ten fined Penn State $13 million.
Ed Vasquez, a spokesperson for several law firms representing victims of Strauss’ abuse, said the Strauss victims behind the letter want any financial sanctions the NCAA imposes to be used to create an association-wide fund that ideally would support investigations into sexual abuse and to provide compensation to victims.
“The amount of money that potentially could come from Ohio State if they were to take action — it’s a significant amount of money,” Vasquez said. “And there’s no reason with that amount of money that they could not create some type of sexual abuse prevention program that not only is on paper, but also has the individuals to run it and to enforce it so that nothing like this ever happens again.”
Vasquez said as of Friday, neither the Big Ten nor the NCAA responded to the letters. Schyck said the lack of response confused him considering how the NCAA investigated Penn State after Sandusky’s abuse was uncovered.
“They jumped in right away. There were penalties, there were sanctions, there was so much done. I am just bewildered as to why nothing has been done yet,” Schyck said.
The letters sent to the NCAA and Big Ten claim Ohio State has not fully accepted responsibility for enabling Strauss to sexually abuse hundreds of student-athletes while employed at the university. In May, the U.S. Southern District Court of Ohio unsealed an amended complaint against Ohio State that included sworn testimony from university employees during the time Strauss abused students and student-athletes indicating many university administrators were aware of multiple complaints against Strauss.
Schyck said he grappled with the knowledge that if the university took victims’ original complaints seriously, Strauss shouldn’t have still been employed when Schyck was there. He said he recently spoke with another Strauss victim who complained about his abuse in 1986 — two years before Schyck came to Ohio State as a wrestler.
“I would have never had to deal with any of this if something was done then. But there were other times along the way that things were said and they could have nipped this in the bud, and no one did,” Schyck said. “The Ohio State of old, where they turned a blind eye — they’re doing the same thing now with everybody. They’re wanting this to go away and not wanting to do anything.”
Despite the difficult emotions Schyck said came with coming forward — emotions he said range from sadness to anger to guilt — Schyck said he is proud of the decision he made nearly two years ago.
“It’s almost cathartic that I’m doing this because I feel like I’m in a better place now because I can lend my voice to help,” Schyck said.
