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Ohio State University has agreed to pay $100 million to settle claims from hundreds of former students who say a campus doctor sexually abused them decades ago.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: Back in 2018, a former Ohio State wrestler named Mike DiSabato went public, saying Dr. Richard Strauss, a campus doctor the university employed from 1978 to 1998, had molested him and hundreds of other male athletes while passing it off as routine medical exams. Strauss, who worked in the athletic department, also ran an off-campus clinic and was accused of groping students, forcing them to undress without reason, and hanging around in locker rooms. The allegations prompted Ohio State to commission an independent investigation, which concluded in 2019 that Strauss had abused at least 177 men, and that school officials had heard complaints as far back as 1979 yet spent 20 years doing nothing to stop him. More than 500 former students ultimately sued the school, accusing it of deliberate indifference. Strauss was never criminally charged, denied any wrongdoing, and took his own life in 2005.

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What’s going on now: The university’s board of trustees signed off on a preliminary $100 million settlement covering 279 of the 280 former students with claims still active in court. One unnamed holdout refused to sign. Once finalized, the deal will mostly close out the fight, which has stretched across roughly eight years.

To split up the new money, a court-appointed special master will sit down with each man in the case, gauge how badly he was harmed, and set his individual payout. Many former athletes have signed sealed agreements keeping their names secret, and some former NFL players are among the victims. University President Ravi Bellamkonda addressed survivors directly at the board meeting, saying they “are all Buckeyes” and thanking them for “their courage in coming forward.”

The payout comes on top of an earlier round that resolved 317 other survivors’ claims for north of $61 million.

This all comes as the case continues to shadow Jim Jordan, a powerful Republican congressman from Ohio who served as an assistant wrestling coach at the school from 1986 to 1994. At least seven victims have accused Jordan of knowing about the abuse and doing nothing, allegations he has repeatedly denied.

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