Ohio State Wrestling Coach Abuse

"We want accountability. And at every step of the way, people have tried to invalidate us."

As deadline nears, Strauss victims seek accountability, not Ohio State's settlement program

As deadline nears, Strauss victims seek accountability, not Ohio State's settlement program

Jessica Langer

LanternTV Campus Producer

Jessica Orozco

Asst. Campus Editor

Sarah Szilagy

Patricia B. Miller Special Projects Reporter

 For the past three years in courtrooms, conference rooms and newspapers, Mike Schyck has detailed the sexual abuse he endured by former university physician Richard Strauss.

As a lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the university, Schyck, who was an Ohio State wrestler from 1988-93 and assistant wrestling coach from 1993-96, has been outspoken about the toll litigation has taken on him. Until midnight Saturday, he has the opportunity to leave his lawsuit and participate in the university's Strauss Individual Settlement Program, which promises victims an average maximum of $252,551 and prevents them from suing the university for Strauss' abuse.

But Schyck said he will "absolutely not" participate in the settlement program.

"I stepped up on behalf of my teammates and myself because other people didn't, our coaches didn't," Schyck said. "We want accountability. And at every step of the way, people have tried to invalidate us."

Mike Schyck, an Ohio State wrestler from 1988-93, practices for a match against Iowa in 1993.

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Schyck, a victim of Richard Strauss' abuse, speaks to the media after his statement to the full Board of Trustees.

Lantern File Photo

Schyck is one of hundreds of men who have sued the university for failing to address and prevent their sexual abuse by Strauss, a physician at the university's Student Wellness Center and the team doctor for 17 varsity sports from 1978-98. An independent investigation by law firm Perkins Coie found in May 2019 that Strauss sexually abused at least 177 students and student-athletes during his time at the university and Ohio State failed to act.

He and Stephen Snyder-Hill, a survivor who attended Ohio State from 1991-2000, said they lost trust in the university for how it handled the cases and don't believe signing the settlement program is the best option for victims. University spokesperson Ben Johnson said in an email the university does not require survivors to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

"Individuals who settle can still talk about their experience publicly," Johnson said. "The independent investigation was completed because of the strength and courage of survivors, and we thank each of them for their willingness to share their experiences."

In a court filing May 3 , the university proposed a program to settle with victims in five open cases against the university. Victims who participate in the program will receive money based on a five-tiered system, ranging from the cost of counseling for those who "come forward with story of personal impact" to $250,000 for those who were anally raped or otherwise endured "significant sexual acts," according to the program website.

Audio excerpt from Stephen Snyder-Hill.

Terms of settlement are silencing, victims say

One of the main elements of the program victims pointed out as problematic is what agreeing to the settlement requires them to do: agree to not sue the university for Strauss' abuse, pursue unreleased documents from the Perkins Coie report nor further complain about the university's response to the abuse.

The RPAC now covers the ground where Larkins Hall once sat.

Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor

"While the release will not preclude participating claimants from speaking about their past experiences with Strauss as part of the healing process, the release requires that participating claimants cease, and not engage in the future, in any disparagement of Ohio State's handling of this matter since March 2018, of the terms of this settlement, or of the Program," the release and covenant not to sue — which all program participants must sign — states.

By agreeing to the settlement, victims also agree to the university's denial of "any liability or wrongdoing of any kind." And upon signing the program agreement, victims are barred from revoking their participation.

Schyck said the stipulations not only build upon the silencing victims have experienced since they were abused by Strauss, they ignore the impact of the university's recent actions.

"The abuse that we all dealt with was one thing, but honestly, these last three years and the way that everything has been handled has probably been 10 times what it is we've all dealt with," Schyck said.

Johnson said victims wouldn't be prevented from mentioning actions the university has taken since 2018, but they would have to do so without "criticizing" the university.

"Since 2018, Ohio State has led the effort to investigate and expose Richard Strauss' abuse and the university's failure at the time to prevent it," Johnson said in an email. "Ohio State is a fundamentally different university today than when Strauss was employed."

But Snyder-Hill said the university of today has violated his trust before — in its handling of his public records.

Snyder-Hill said Strauss assaulted him in 1995 in the Wilce Student Health Center. He said he reported the incident to then-Director of Student Health Services Dr. Ted Grace.

Grace voluntarily surrendered his medical license to the State Medical Board of Ohio in April in lieu of an investigation into his failure to report Strauss to the medical board. As part of his surrender, he admitted to failing to report specific instances of Strauss' sexual abuse.

In a March 2020 hearing, Grace testified before the board that he was aware of three complaints against Strauss: two from 1995 and one from 1996.

It's unclear if Snyder-Hill's report was one of the complaints Grace referenced in his hearing.

After a meeting with Strauss and Grace during which Strauss denied the accusations, and after Snyder-Hill submitted his written complaint to Grace, Snyder-Hill said he trusted Grace to prevent Strauss from assaulting other students.

"Then 24 years later, I see Strauss's face on TV, and then that's when I realized how much that I've been deceived and lied to by the university," Snyder-Hill said. "And my experience with OSU has not gotten any better."

Stephen Snyder-Hill attended Ohio State from 1991-2000. In 1995, he said he was assaulted by Strauss in the Wilce Health Center.

Courtesy of Stephen Snyder-Hill

Following the university's release of some of Strauss' personnel file — which contained no mention of infractions or abuse reports — in June 2018, Snyder-Hill submitted a public records request in July 2018 asking for a copy of his written complaint from 1995.

After meeting with lawyers from Perkins Coie, Snyder-Hill later discovered that the university did not give him all of the documents to which he was entitled. In December 2018, he submitted a second records request to include any document that contained any mention of himself and Strauss from 1995. Snyder-Hill wouldn't know until later that the university had pulled his records by the end of the month as part of Perkins Coie's investigation.

Despite requests for updates, Snyder-Hill did not receive the rest of the records relating to his complaint and meeting with Strauss until May 17, 2019 — less than an hour before the Perkins Coie report was released to the public.

In a September 2020 report, a special master ruled that the university violated public records law by intentionally withholding Snyder-Hill's records for five months. The university argued that releasing Snyder-Hill's records before the Perkins Coie report "could subject survivors to unnecessary retraumatization or have a chilling effect on their participation with the investigation," according to court documents.

Just less than a year since the special master's decision, Snyder-Hill said he views the settlement program similar to the university's withholding of his records in that it is a way to exert control.

"They wanted to control the narrative, just like they've always wanted to control the narrative, and they haven't changed," Snyder-Hill said. "This is the same university as it was back when Grace was running the show. Nothing's changed."

Vague terms, monetary caps make outcome uncertain for victims

Stephen Snyder-Hill received both an undergraduate and master's degree from Ohio State University.

Courtesy of Stephen Snyder-Hill

The cap on the university's payment of monetary settlements is $21.5 million, with an additional $6.5 million dedicated to an "extraordinary injury fund" for individual victims in tiers 1 and 2. But cap limits are also placed on each tier; tier 1's cap is $2.375 million, meaning less than 10 men would be able to receive the maximum amount of $250,000.

The program does not require all available money be distributed.

Snyder-Hill said the settlement program is unclear and harmful to victims, as it requires them to agree to the terms without any assurance of how much money they will receive.

"If you go into the distrust that I already feel, and then these math games, then you can understand why I would think that this is just a really bad thing that they're trying to do to us," Snyder-Hill said.

Schyck said the tiered system and the monetary cap unfairly pits victims and their specific abuse against each other for a limited amount of money — and asks victims to sign onto a settlement without knowing what amount they'll get.

"They put all of this out there for everybody to fight over," Schyck said. "It's an average of $252,000, but it's like, 'Is your abuse more than my abuse? Is my abuse more than your abuse?'"

Audio excerpt from Mike Schyck.

The monetary amount is not the most important thing to Schyck and many other victims, he said, but he finds the maximum to be invalidating — especially compared to the precedent of other collegiate sexual abuse cases.

In 2018, Michigan State University settled with more than 300 victims of former physician Larry Nassar for $425 million, with an additional $75 million set aside for future claims. If allocated evenly, each of Nassar's victims would have received nearly $1.3 million — more than five times the maximum amount each Strauss victim may be entitled to.

In March, the University of Southern California agreed to pay $852 million to 710 women who were sexually assaulted by former university physician George Tyndall during gynecological exams. If allocated evenly, each victim would have received $1.2 million. The settlement follows another $215 million settlement USC signed in 2018 to give anyone who received medical care from Tyndall $2,500 and those with stories of abuse an additional amount of up to $250,000.

"Why would we be open to settle for anything less? That would diminish anybody a part of this," Schyck said. "Like, 'We're not worried unless you're abused and a girl — then OK, we're gonna do this. If you're a boy, then it's not that big of a deal. Suck it up.'"

Settlement amounts will be independently administered by Matthew Garretson, who served as the independent special master in March 6, 2020 and Oct. 12, 2020 settlements involving 185 Strauss victims, according to the program protocol. The protocol states the university does not have any responsibility or role in administering or operating the program.

To file a claim to receive an individual settlement, victims must detail the specifics of the abuse suffered by Strauss and if they or anyone they knew reported it, according to the claim form.

According to the settlement terms, victims have two weeks to appeal their proposed amount, which will be reevaluated by an appeal panel made up of Garretson, a member appointed by Garretson and a member appointed by the university's lawyers. Schyck said this appeal system is another flaw in the settlement program.

"If they come back with a number and you don't like it and you appeal, it goes to the person that they put in place, that set this thing up," Schyck said. "How's that fair?"

The means to move forward

Snyder-Hill said he wants Ohio State to acknowledge and apologize for withholding public records. He also said he's looking for an apology that doesn't make distinctions between the university when Strauss was employed and the "OSU of today" or use "any other dismissive language." He wants to ensure a similar situation will never happen again — but he's not optimistic. Instead, he said the settlement program is the university's way of trying to get those who are too tired of fighting to concede.

"They're trying to wear everybody out," Snyder-Hill said. "They're trying to put these survivors through all this hell, and then they know that now they can dangle this little carrot and hope that people will take it, but I can say for myself, I just think that it's a horrific mistake, and I feel like that it's just a part of an ongoing trap that they just continue to do."

Strauss died by suicide in 2005. Schyck said he wishes Strauss were still alive so he and his teammates could confront him in court, similar to how Nassar's victims were able to.

But Schyck agreed with Snyder-Hill's sentiment that what he wants the most is for the university to take direct accountability for Strauss' abuse — and cover up — and facilitate the closure he and other men need.

"I've never looked at myself as a victim all throughout my lifetime. But stepping into this and trying to carry this burden over the course of the last three years — I can't sit there and tell you that it hasn't changed my life. It has," Schyck said. "It kind of sucks. But that's one of the reasons why we all want closure — so we can just move on and just say, 'Let's go and get on with it,' but Ohio State is not letting us do that."

Words by Jessica Langer,Jessica Orozco and Sarah Szilagy

Web Design by Marcus Horton and Maya Neyman

Artwork by Marcy Paredes

Ohio State Wrestling Coach Abuse

Source: https://www.thelantern.com/projects/project/as-deadline-nears-strauss-victims-seek-accountability-not-ohio-states-settlement-program/

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