Jim Jordan, a former coach for the Ohio State University wrestling team, has been combatting claims that he was privy to a series of sexual assaults perpetrated by a former team doctor during his tenure with the illustrious school.
Currently sitting as the U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 4th district, Jordan was a wrestling coach at OSU from 1987 to 1995. During his tenure, Jordan worked alongside team physician Dr. Richard Strauss, a man who would later be accused of molesting more than 170 male students under the guise of routine medical examinations. Speaking out, several former OSU students revealed that Jim Jordan and former head coach Russ Hellickso knew about the allegations levied against Strauss. Jordan has denied the accusations.
Former UFC and PRIDE heavyweight champion Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman was one of the many men who revealed that they had been abused by Strauss after transferring to OSU for his senior year in 1986. Speaking with The Wall Street Journal, Coleman shared his belief that Jim Jordan knew about the allegations as they were happening.
“There’s no way unless he’s got dementia or something that he’s got no recollection of what was going on at Ohio State,” Coleman said to WSJ. “I have nothing but respect for this man. I love this man. But he knew as far as I’m concerned.”
Mark Coleman Recanted His Statement Only After Jim Jordan Contacted His Parents
However, Mark Coleman quickly contacted CNN to walk back the comments he had made about Jim Jordan to The Wall Street Journal.
“Maybe I spoke without thinking,” said Coleman. “This absorbed my life. Since I’ve said that, it’s consumed me 24 hours a day. And I didn’t like the way it was heading, the direction it was heading.”
“I was angry and said words that I shouldn’t have said,” continued Coleman, who added that he no longer stood by his quotes in the WSJ. “He may have known about some locker room banter, because we did joke about it in the locker room, but I don’t know of anyone ever reporting it to Jim Jordan directly.”
Earlier this week, Coleman dropped another bombshell, telling the New York Times that he recanted his initial comments after Jim Jordan “spoke on the phone with Coleman’s ageing parents in an effort to get him to change his story.”
A lawyer for Jim Jordan confirmed that his client had spoken with Coleman’s parents, but only after they had approached Jordan at an event and “expressed a desire to clarify what their son had said.”
Jim Jordan received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January 2021, just days removed from the infamous U.S. Capital attack. A devout supporter of the former U.S. President Donald Trump, Jordan reportedly worked with Trump insiders in an effort to overthrow the 2020 U.S. election that saw Joe Biden win by a sizable margin. With Trump no longer in office and facing his own indictment, Jordan has maintained his loyalty toward the business mogul. Asked about the claims against Jim Jordan in 2019, Trump said, “I don’t believe them at all.”
In 2020, Ohio State University agreed to pay a $40.9 settlement to Strauss’ alleged victims.