We thought we were doing the right thing in telling our coach.
Over two decades, hundreds of young men placed their trust in an institution and a physician, only to have that trust systematically betrayed. Ohio State University has now agreed to pay approximately $100 million to 280 remaining survivors of abuse committed by Dr. Richard Strauss between 1978 and 1998, bringing the university's total settlements to more than $161 million. The money arrives long after the harm, and long after the institution knew — a pattern that raises enduring questions about how power protects itself at the expense of the vulnerable.
- Hundreds of student athletes were sexually abused over twenty years by a university physician who operated with institutional cover, even as complaints reached administrators as early as 1979.
- Survivors who came forward in 2018 described not only the abuse itself, but the compounded wound of reporting it to coaches and officials who did nothing — people they had been taught to trust above all others.
- Ohio State's own independent investigation confirmed what survivors had long known: the university had ample opportunity to stop Strauss and chose, repeatedly, not to act.
- The Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to approve the $100 million settlement for 280 pending claimants, following a prior $61 million payout to 317 survivors — over $161 million in total legal consequence.
- A joint statement signals the settlement will be finalized in coming weeks, but institutional accountability for how the abuse was enabled and concealed remains an open and unanswered question.
Ohio State University's Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to settle claims from 280 former student athletes for approximately $100 million, moving toward resolution of one of the most damaging abuse scandals in American higher education. Dr. Richard Strauss served as a team physician from 1978 to 1998, abusing athletes while the university received complaints about his conduct as early as 1979. He died in 2005, before the full scope of his actions became public.
This settlement is the university's second major payout. An earlier agreement with 317 survivors totaled more than $61 million, many of whom signed confidentiality agreements. Combined, Ohio State will have paid over $161 million — the financial measure of a failure that an independent investigation confirmed was institutional, not incidental.
Two survivors who spoke publicly in 2018 gave the scandal its human face. Steve Snyder-Hill described the particular vulnerability of a student athlete in a physician's care — undressed, dependent, trusting — and recalled being told by the student health director that no prior complaints about Strauss had ever been received. That was false. Ron McDaniel remembered reporting abuse to coaches and trainers, the authority figures athletes were conditioned to rely on. 'We thought we were doing the right thing,' he said. The institution did not.
University president Ravi Bellamkonda addressed the Board, calling survivors part of the Ohio State family and thanking them for their courage. The language of remorse is now familiar in such moments — offered under legal pressure, decades after the fact. As the financial chapter closes, the structural question lingers: how did a major American university allow systematic abuse to continue unchecked for twenty years, and what does it mean that so many people knew and so little was done?
Ohio State University's Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to settle legal claims from hundreds of former student athletes for approximately $100 million, bringing an eight-year legal battle toward closure. The settlement covers 280 survivors whose cases remain in pending litigation—a preliminary agreement that, once finalized, would resolve one of the most damaging institutional abuse scandals in American higher education.
Dr. Richard Strauss worked at Ohio State from 1978 to 1998, serving as a physician for student athletes while simultaneously operating a private clinic off campus. He died in 2005, long before the full scope of his abuse became public. What emerged through years of litigation and investigation was a portrait of institutional negligence: an independent report determined that numerous Ohio State personnel had received complaints about Strauss's conduct as early as 1979, yet the university failed to investigate meaningfully or take protective action for years. The abuse continued largely unchecked across two decades.
The $100 million settlement represents the second major payout by the university. Ohio State had already settled with 317 survivors for more than $61 million, many of whom signed confidentiality agreements that kept their identities sealed. Combined, the university will have paid out over $161 million to address the harm caused by a single physician whose misconduct the institution had ample opportunity to stop.
In 2018, when the first lawsuits were filed in federal court, two survivors spoke publicly about their experiences. Steve Snyder-Hill described the vulnerability of being a student athlete under a doctor's care—undressed, dependent, in a position of trust that Strauss exploited. When Snyder-Hill reported an incident, the director of student health services responded with a letter claiming the office had never received any prior complaints about Strauss. That claim was demonstrably false. Ron McDaniel, another survivor, recalled the betrayal of reporting abuse to coaches and athletic department officials, people he and other athletes had been taught to trust. "We thought we were doing the right thing," McDaniel said. "They were the athletic department. We looked to the coaches, the trainers and the doctors to do the right thing." Instead, the institution protected its own.
Ohio State's president, Ravi Bellamkonda, addressed the settlement during the Board of Trustees meeting, framing survivors as part of the university family and expressing gratitude for their courage in coming forward. The language of institutional remorse is now standard in such statements, though it arrives decades after the fact and only under legal pressure. The university and the plaintiffs' legal team issued a joint statement Wednesday indicating they would work to finalize the settlement details in the coming weeks.
What remains unresolved, even as the financial settlement approaches completion, is the deeper question of institutional accountability. The independent investigation established that Ohio State knew. Multiple people knew. And for years, nothing changed. The settlement closes one chapter—the litigation—but leaves open the question of how an American university allowed such systematic abuse to persist, and what structural failures enabled it.
Notable Quotes
I was a student. I went in there vulnerable. I was even more vulnerable because he had me de-clothed.— Steve Snyder-Hill, survivor, to CBS Mornings
We thought we were doing the right thing in telling our coach. They were the athletic department. We looked to the coaches, the trainers and the doctors to do the right thing.— Ron McDaniel, survivor
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did it take so long for Ohio State to settle? The abuse happened decades ago.
The university fought the lawsuits in federal court for eight years. They had incentive to delay, to exhaust resources, to wait out survivors. Litigation is expensive and damaging to reputation, so institutions often calculate whether settling now or fighting longer costs less in the end.
But they already paid $61 million to 317 other survivors. Didn't that signal they should settle the rest?
It did, but there were still 280 more claims in active litigation. Each settlement negotiation is separate. The university may have hoped to limit total exposure, or the remaining survivors' cases had different legal angles. Either way, the pattern shows the institution only moved when forced.
What strikes you most about the survivors' accounts?
The betrayal. Snyder-Hill and McDaniel did exactly what they were supposed to do—they reported abuse to authority figures. And the system failed them. The director of student health services lied about prior complaints. The coaches and trainers didn't act. That's not just one bad doctor; that's institutional failure.
Do you think the settlement actually closes this chapter?
Financially, yes. Legally, probably. But institutionally? No. The independent report proved Ohio State knew and did nothing for years. A hundred million dollars doesn't answer why that happened or what's changed to prevent it.