On Monday, former Ohio State University wrestling coach Russ Hellickson offered a fierce defense of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) over recent allegations that the congressmen knew about and ignored decades-old sexual abuse of student-athletes at the hands of the team doctor while he served as assistant coach. Jordan has denied knowledge of any such abuse.
During a fiery phone interview with The Hill, Hellickson said that Jordan did not see nor was ever informed of such abuse by Dr. Richard Strauss, adding that the “narrative” surrounding the Republican is driven by “hysteria and politics.”
“I am frankly pissed off at what they are doing to Jim Jordan,” he stated. “This is hysteria and politics running the narrative. … [Jordan] gave his heart and soul to the personal development of these athletes.”
Highlighting the partisan-driven narrative, Hellickson asked, “If they are attacking him, why aren’t they attacking the 30 or 40 other coaches at OSU?”
“A whole lot of people were in the dark here. Nobody recognized this,” added the former head coach. “Jim Jordan didn’t know anything. I didn’t know anything, and I don’t think any of the other coaches knew anything.”
Additionally, a half dozen former OSU coaches — Dave Ruckman, Rex Holman, Ken Chertow, Myron Kharchilava, Kenny Ramsey Jr., and Hellickson — issued a joint statement on Monday in defense of Jordan. “What has been said about Jim Jordan is absolutely wrong. We all worked on the wrestling coaching staff during Jim’s tenure at The Ohio State University. None of us saw or heard of abuse of OSU wrestlers,” the statement reads. “The well-being of student-athletes was all of our concern. If we had heard of any abuse, we would have spoken up.”
As noted by Daily Wire’s Ashe Schow, the timing of the allegations is suspect. “These accusations didn’t come out then, or when he was running for the Ohio General Assembly in 1994, or when he was elected to the Ohio Senate in 2000, or when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006, or in any of the 12 years since,” wrote Schow. “It was only after news reports said Jordan was considering a run to replace Paul Ryan (R-WI) as speaker of the House that the accusations against him came up.”
Moreover, accusers Michael DiSabato and Dunyasha Yetts’ pasts with the law raise questions. “DiSabato has had previous legal disputes with OSU and others, and Yetts has made similar sexual abuse accusations in the past and spent time in prison for fraud,” notes Schow.