OSU OKs $100M deal to settle sexual-abuse cases
Key takeaways
- The school has fought lawsuits in federal court since 2018 brought by former student-athletes against the university over its failure to stop abuse by Dr.
- During a meeting Wednesday, the school's board of trustees approved a preliminary agreement with all but one of the 280 survivors with claims still involved in pending litigation.
- "The survivors of the Strauss abuse are all Buckeyes, will always be a part of our family and our community, and I firmly believe that," the school's president, Ravi Bellamkonda, said during the meeting.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State University agreed Wednesday to pay approximately $100 million to settle legal claims from hundreds of former student athletes who said they were sexually abused decades ago by a doctor at the university.
The school has fought lawsuits in federal court since 2018 brought by former student-athletes against the university over its failure to stop abuse by Dr. Richard Strauss. Strauss worked at the school from 1978 to 1998 and also ran an off-campus clinic. He died in 2005.
During a meeting Wednesday, the school's board of trustees approved a preliminary agreement with all but one of the 280 survivors with claims still involved in pending litigation. Once finalized, the settlement could mark the end of a lengthy legal battle and close a painful chapter in the school's history.