Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-Ohio) Democratic challenger in November’s midterm elections, Janet Garrett, is calling “very serious” new allegations that he turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of wrestlers while a coach at Ohio State University.
Three wrestlers told NBC News Jordan was aware the late Dr. Richard Strauss, who served as the team’s doctor from the mid-1970s through the 1990s, was sexually assaulting athletes roughly two decades ago.
Garrett took to Twitter to call on Jordan to cooperate with the investigation.
{mosads}”Any allegation of sexual abuse against minors — or complicity regarding such abuse — is very serious. That damage cannot be undone,” she said Tuesday. “For any teacher, protecting kids is the absolute first priority — and I say that as a former kindergarten teacher. Ohio State has an obligation to get to the bottom of this with a thorough and fair investigation. Jim Jordan has an obligation to cooperate fully with that investigation.”
Jordan has denied having any knowledge of abuse during his tenure at the university.
“Congressman Jordan never saw any abuse, never heard about any abuse, and never had any abuse reported to him during his time as a coach at Ohio State,” Jordan’s spokesman, Ian Fury, told The Hill in a statement. “He has not been contacted by investigators about the matter but will assist them in any way they ask, because if what is alleged is true, the victims deserve a full investigation and justice.”
Jordan, one of the founding members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, previously defeated Garrett in both the 2014 and 2016 election cycles in his deep-red district.