Jim Jordan 'Begged' Me To Deny Abuse Claims: Former OSU Wrestler

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Jim Jordan was accused of "begging" a former Ohio State University wrestler to deny allegations of sexual abuse by former team doctor Dr. Richard Strauss. The abuse is said to have occurred while Jordan was a coach for the wrestling team, between 1986 and 1994.

Adam DiSibato, the brother of the first person to speak out against Strauss, testified at the state legislature this week that Jordan called him "crying" and asked DiSibato to deny the allegations, as The Washington Post and others reported.

Jordan's spokesperson talked with the Washington Post and denied the accusations.

Strauss abused at least 177 students during his 20-year tenure with the school, an independent investigation concluded in 2019. The report said it found a disturbing pattern of abuse at the university. Investigators said university staff knew of complaints and concerns about Strauss in 1979, but failed to look into the accusations.

The allegations against Strauss, and Jordan, first came to light in 2018 when Mike DiSabato said he had been abused by Strauss. In an interview with NBC News, he also said Jordan knew of the abuse and took no action.

"I considered Jim Jordan a friend," Mike DiSabato, a former Buckeye wrestler, told NBC News. "But at the end of the day, he is absolutely lying if he says he doesn't know what was going on."

Mike DiSabato also accused Jordan of asking to be left out of the probe into Strauss. He said the representative asked "me not to get him involved."

Jordan has consistently denied any knowledge of Strauss' alleged misconduct. He told the Columbus Dispatch in May 2018 he never heard anything about abuse by Strauss.

Allegations against Strauss began to be investigated in April 2018 by officials at Ohio State University. Approximately 150 former student athletes, from at least 14 men's varsity teams, have spoken to investigators, the Columbus Dispatch said.

In 2018, Dunyasha Yetts, another former wrestler, insisted that he and other wrestlers went to Jordan with accusations against Strauss. He said the future representative told him he would "kill" Strauss if he tried anything with him.

Yetts also said he thought Jordan was a "great guy."

"So it's sad for me to hear that he's denying knowing about Strauss," he said. "I don't know why he would, unless it's a cover-up. Either you're in on it, or you're a liar."

Strauss worked at the university from 1978 until 1998. He died in 2005.

Jordan is the representative from Ohio's 4th District, a winding district that includes parts of 14 different counties. Jordan is the representative for both Oberlin, one of Ohio's most liberal cities, and Urbana, one of Ohio's most rural and conservative areas.