COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State University has agreed to pay nearly $100 million to settle sex abuse claims made by former student athletes involving a former doctor at the school.
The athletes claim Dr. Richard Strauss, who worked at the university from 1978 to 1998 and ran an off-campus clinic, abused them and that the school did not stop it, The Associated Press reported.
An independent investigation had found that several Ohio State employees knew of the complaints against Strauss as early as 1979, but did not investigate or take meaningful action, the AP reported.
Ohio State has fought the lawsuits in federal court since 2018, but the Board of Trustees on May 3 approved an agreement with 279 of the 280 people who still have lawsuits pending.
In all, more than 500 lawsuits were filed, according to Reuters.
“The survivors of the Strauss abuse are all Buckeyes, will always be a part of our family and our community, and I firmly believe that,” the school’s president, Ravi Bellamkonda, said, according to the AP. “We continue to be very grateful to them for their courage in coming forward, and reaching a final resolution is very important to us and is an important step forward.”
Among those suing the school were dozens of former Ohio State football players, WHIO reported.
The school pledged to provide medical and clinical support for the survivors, as well as covering the cost of counseling services, WBNS reported.
Strauss died by suicide in 2005, Reuters reported.
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