Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan is among those in contention for the vacant Speaker of the House position, but four former Ohio State Buckeyes wrestlers think that he is unfit for the position, accusing him of failing to protect them from a sexual predator when he was an assistant coach for the team back in the 1980s and ’90s.
Hundreds of former athletes and students claim they were sexually abused by school doctor Richard Strauss, and a few Ohio State wrestlers – Mike Schyck, Dunyasha Yetts and Rocky Ratliff – are publicly speaking out against the possibility of Jim Jordan becoming the Speaker of the House.
“Do you really want a guy in that job who chose not to stand up for his guys?” Schyck said according to Yahoo! News. “Is that the kind of character trait you want for a House speaker?”
“He doesn’t deserve to be House speaker,” Yetts said. “He still has to answer for what happened to us.”
Ratliff said that Jordan “abandoned his former wrestlers in the Ohio State sexual abuse scandal and cover-up.”
Jordan has continually denied any knowledge of sexual abuse by Strauss when he coached at Ohio State from 1986 to 1994, but several former athletes insist he knew and is now lying about his knowledge.
After Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted as the Speaker of the House earlier this month, Jordan is competing against House Majority Leader Steve Scalise for the position.
