$100 Million Settlement Ends Ohio State's Strauss Abuse Litigation, Covering Nearly 280 Survivors

For nearly two decades, Dr. Richard Strauss worked as a sports medicine physician and team doctor at Ohio State University, conducting medical examinations of student athletes and clinic patients. According to a 2019 independent investigation commissioned by the university, Strauss sexually abused at least 177 male victims between 1978 and 1998. The same investigation found that university officials were made aware of concerns about his conduct as early as 1979 and took no meaningful action. Strauss retired in 1998 and died by suicide in 2005.

Lawsuits began accumulating against Ohio State starting in 2018, when survivors including former football players and other student athletes came forward publicly. The cases were filed as individual and class actions in the Southern District of Ohio, consolidating before Judge Michael H. Watson. Among the plaintiff firms that joined the litigation from early on was Estey and Bomberger of San Diego, with Stephen J. Estey appearing as counsel of record in Gonzales et al. v. The Ohio State University (Case No. 2:23-cv-03051, S.D. Ohio). Estey's group represented clients including Brian Garrett, one of the most publicly outspoken survivors, who said the university had failed victims not only through Strauss but through subsequent legal resistance.

Over multiple years, Ohio State reached a series of partial settlements. By early 2026, the university had resolved claims with more than 300 survivors for over $60 million across six prior agreements. The remaining approximately 280 plaintiffs, whose cases were scheduled for bellwether trials in October 2026, held out for a larger resolution. In February and April 2026, Ohio State settled a handful of additional individual cases, but the bulk of the litigation remained active.

On June 3, 2026, Ohio State's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to ratify settlement agreements in principle with 279 of 280 remaining plaintiffs for $100 million total. One individual had not agreed to the terms at the time of the board vote. The resolution ended the active federal docket. Combined with earlier rounds, the university's total payout across all Strauss-related civil litigation exceeded $160 million.

The settlement closed a case built on evidence that institutional inaction stretched across multiple administrations and departments. Survivors who persisted through years of statute-of-limitations challenges, appeals, and mediation proceedings that attorneys described as unproductive at various stages eventually secured one of the largest institutional sexual-abuse settlements in college sports history.