Thirty former Ohio State football players, including some former NFL players, have agreed to join a federal lawsuit against the university over the sexual abuse of student athletes decades ago by a team doctor, a lawyer in the case said Thursday.
The lawyer, Rocky Ratliff, said in an interview that the men came forward some eight years after the first lawsuit was filed because they needed to overcome the shame of revealing that they’d been sexually abused by another man and the fear of taking on the university publicly.
They are “tearful and living with it,” Ratliff said. “But as this case progresses on, they see how Ohio State’s treating athletes from the university and I think they want people to know it’s OK, even if it is male to male (sexual abuse), to come forward.”
Ohio State 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. Hundreds say they were abused by Strauss, who worked at the school from 1978 to 1998. He died in 2005.
The men have signed letters of agreement to join a lawsuit filed by other student-athletes who say they are victims of Strauss, Ratliff said.
Of the 30, only three have agreed to make their identities public, Ratliff said. They are Al Washington, Ray Ellis and Keith Ferguson, he said. All were members of the 1980 Rose Bowl team and were recruited by and played for legendary coach Woody Hayes. The Associated Press does not identify people who say they’re victims of sexual abuse unless they choose to make their names public.
Some other former football players have settled with the school in sealed agreements that kept their names a secret, Ratliff said.
In a statement, Ohio State said it has “sincerely and persistently tried to reconcile with survivors, including former football student-athletes, through monetary and non-monetary means, including settlements, counseling services and other medical treatment.”
As of April 15, the university has settled with 317 survivors for more than $61 million, and is remains actively engaged in mediation, the school said.
In an interview, Washington said it was hard to talk about the abuse he suffered and recalled being subjected to “unlawful” physical exams by Strauss when he was 18 or 19. He and the other players tried to make light of it with each other and joke about it.
“But it was really uncomfortable,” said Washington, now 67.
He didn’t discuss it with others over the decades, but watching the 2025 documentary film “Surviving Ohio State” put it back into his thoughts.
“As a matter of fact, I couldn’t make it through that movie,” Washington said. “The pain and anguish that I saw, I just couldn’t take it.”
Strauss was on the faculty and medical staff and Ohio State. He retired in 1998 with emeritus status. School trustees revoked that mark of honor three years ago.
Washington played linebacker at Ohio State and was a fourth-round draft pick by the New York Jets in 1981. After a year with the Jets he went to the Ottawa Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.
Ellis, 67, was a safety at Ohio State and spent five years with the Philadelphia Eagles and two with the Cleveland Browns. He recorded 14 interceptions and three sacks over seven NFL seasons.
Ferguson, 67, was a defensive end at Ohio State and a fifth-round draft pick by San Diego in 1981. He spent five years with the Chargers and six more with Detroit. His best season came in 1986, when he recorded 9 1/2 sacks for the Lions.
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AP Pro Football Writer Mark Long in Jacksonville, Florida, contributed.
Copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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