More than a dozen former NFL players join sex abuse lawsuits against Ohio State University - BERITAJA

Thirty erstwhile Ohio State University shot players, including much than a twelve who went connected to play successful the NFL, signed connected to the people action suit brought by different ex-OSU students who opportunity they were sexually abused decades agone by field expert Richard Strauss.

While the eight-year ineligible conflict to get OSU to salary damages complete allegations that it grounded to protect them from Strauss has frankincense acold been led mostly by erstwhile assemblage wrestlers, this caller group includes salient erstwhile members of the Buckeye shot squad for illustration Al Washington, Ray Ellis and Keith Ferguson, each 3 of whom went connected to play pro football, erstwhile OSU wrestler Mike DiSabato announced successful a property merchandise Thursday.

Attorney Rocky Ratliff, who is simply a erstwhile OSU wrestler and 1 of the Strauss survivors presently suing the school, confirmed Thursday that he is representing the 30 shot players who person signed engagement letters to subordinate the people action suit that he is affiliated with.

“They signed up nether me, but yet they will beryllium portion of the people action lawsuit,” he said.

The group of men formerly played for NFL teams that see the Chicago Bears, the Dallas Cowboys, the Detroit Lions, the Cleveland Browns and the erstwhile San Diego Chargers.

“When you play football, you brushwood obstacles, and erstwhile I was a Buckeye, I decided not to fto what happened to maine conclusion me, truthful I kept quiet,” Washington, 67, told Beritaja up of the announcement Thursday. “But I’ve been surviving pinch this a agelong time, and it’s clip to settee this erstwhile and for all.”

Dr. Richard Strauss from a 1978 Ohio State University employment application.Ohio State University

“I emotion Ohio State, but I want Ohio State to return immoderate accountability for what happened to us,” said Washington, who later played for the New York Jets.

Like the different men suing the school, Washington and the different erstwhile OSU shot players allege that Strauss sexually abused them nether the guise of giving them the physicals they were required to acquisition earlier they were allowed to play for OSU.

Washington, who runs a backstage security institution successful Columbus, Ohio, said he became alert of the scope of the Strauss maltreatment allegations and the ineligible actions against OSU respective years aft DiSabato went nationalist successful 2018 pinch allegations that Strauss sexually abused him and hundreds of different athletes and that the schoolhouse knew about it but did thing to extremity him.

But Washington hesitated to travel guardant because he didn’t want to jeopardize the profession of his son, besides named Al Washington, who was past a linebackers coach astatine OSU and is now a linebackers coach for the Miami Dolphins.

“I didn’t want him to beryllium penalized for thing that affected me,” Washington said.

Beritaja has reached retired to OSU for remark about the 30 men joining the suit but didn’t instantly person a response. The assemblage and its erstwhile president person antecedently publically apologized “to each personification who endured” maltreatment astatine the hands of Strauss.

Ohio State has been battling Strauss-related lawsuits successful the Southern District of Ohio since 2018.

As of April 15, the schoolhouse has settled pinch 317 survivors for much than $61 million, according to a spokesperson for OSU. But the assemblage is still facing 5 progressive lawsuits successful the Southern District of Ohio from 236 men alleging Strauss abused them.

Strauss, who died by termination successful 2005, preyed connected hundreds of men from the mid-1970s to the precocious 1990s, according to an independent investigation sponsored by the university.

The investigation, conducted by the Perkins Coie rule firm, concluded successful May 2019 that Strauss sexually abused astatine slightest 177 antheral athletes and students and that coaches and administrators knew about it for 2 decades but grounded to extremity him.

One of those erstwhile coaches accused by DiSabato and galore different erstwhile OSU wrestlers of doing thing to extremity Strauss from abusing them was Rep. Jim Jordan, the powerful Republican congressman from Ohio who was an adjunct wrestling coach astatine Ohio State from 1986 to 1994.

Jordan has many times denied immoderate knowledge of what Strauss allegedly did to the athletes and he is not named successful the Perkins Coie report.