Staff Reports
The news that Ohio State University has agreed to a $100 million settlement with nearly 280 men who say they were sexually abused by campus doctor Richard Strauss is big — but it is not the whole story. The money may end a long legal fight, but it does not erase the failures that let this abuse happen for decades. Buckeye Nation and the public deserve far more than a quiet payout and a press release.
Settlement ends a long legal fight, but details remain hidden
Ohio State University says it has reached a $100 million settlement with all but one of the 280 former students who made claims. That puts a price on the horrors many endured. An independent review found Strauss abused at least 177 men from the late 1970s through the 1990s, and the report concluded coaches and administrators knew and failed to stop him. Yet the school is keeping the deal mostly under wraps while mediation remains “confidential.” That secrecy smells like privilege. If a public university is going to pay out taxpayer-adjacent funds and claim accountability, the public should see the receipts and the reasoning.
Accountability is missing where it matters
We have watched scandal after scandal end with settlements, vague apologies, and promises of reform. Ohio State President Ravi Bellamkonda said survivors are “all Buckeyes” and thanked them for their courage. Fine words — but where are the consequences for the coaches and administrators who ignored warning signs? Where are clear personnel moves, policy changes, and a transparent report on who knew what and when? Universities that protect reputations instead of victims prove the problem all over again.
The human cost doesn’t fit neatly into a settlement check
Money helps, and survivors will need it for therapy and support. But cash is not the same as justice. Many of these men lived with trauma for decades while the institution that should have kept them safe looked the other way. The university has paid other Strauss-related claims before — more than $61 million to 317 survivors — which makes this settlement feel less like an admission of responsibility and more like damage control done on a big scale. If Ohio State truly wants to make amends, it will do more than sign checks.
What should come next
Start with transparency. Release the settlement terms when possible and publish clear findings about administrative failures. Strengthen reporting rules, give independent watchdogs real power, and ensure victims get long-term care, not a one-time payment. And for future leaders: stop trusting institutions to police themselves. If universities insist on calling themselves moral leaders, they must act like it — even when the truth is ugly. The Buckeye community deserves accountability, not cover-ups dressed up as closure.
