(This article was updated to include additional information.)
Recently retired Columbus Fire Chief Jeffrey Happ shared May 14 that he was among the hundreds of former athletes that endured sexual abuse by former Ohio State University doctor Richard Strauss. But unlike many of the survivors, Happ and one of his teammates said they were abused while student athletes at Bishop Ready High School.
They are among the first to publicly say Strauss abused them in high school.
Happ said Strauss first assaulted him when he was 15 years old. Happ was a multi-sport athlete at Bishop Ready, a member the high school’s state championship wrestling and football teams.
Strauss was conducting a body fat study paid for by Ohio State, which Happ said was a “guise” that gave him access to local high school students across central Ohio. Happ told The Dispatch he remembers Strauss called him and his teammates into a room at the high school one by one for an examination. Strauss shut the door behind them, which Happ said he thought was for the students’ privacy.
Instead, he said, it was so Strauss could abuse them behind closed doors.
Happ said he was fondled by Strauss during the physical but didn’t realize he was inappropriately touched until years later.
“I had 33 physicals in my time on the fire department,” Happ said. “I never missed one, and I never had an exam like that with Strauss again.”
Happ was not alone in the abuse. Todd Schroeck, a former Columbus firefighter, told The Dispatch that he also experienced sexual abuse by Strauss as a Bishop Ready wrestler.
Schroeck said he was 17 years old when his wrestling team was selected to be part of Strauss’ body composition study. He also remembered being called into an office with Strauss, where Schroeck was told Strauss would conduct a physical. It was during that exam that Schroeck said he was fondled by Strauss.
“Kids didn’t know the word ‘pedophile’ then, he was just a weirdo,” Schroeck said. “But he was a professional at this.”
As a prostate cancer survivor, Schroeck said he’s been in countless doctor’s offices for exams and physicals since then. No doctor has ever touched him the way Strauss did, he said.
When the news broke in April 2018 that Ohio State was investigating Strauss, Happ said he felt validated that what happened to him was wrong.
Happ said what happened to him and his classmates at Bishop Ready confirms that Strauss’ abuse wasn’t contained to just Ohio State but extended into the youth sports community in Columbus as well.
There are multiple references in the Perkins Coie report, which investigated Strauss’ abuse at Ohio State and beyond after it became public in 2018, about the former doctor’s interactions with high schools and high school students. One anonymous student reported that Strauss sexually abused him and other male students at his Catholic high school located in Columbus during a body fat testing study. That individual was 14 at the time.
In a statement, an Ohio State spokesperson said: “Since 2018, Ohio State has sincerely and persistently tried to reconcile with survivors through monetary and non-monetary means, including settlements, counseling services and other medical treatment. The university has settled with 317 survivors for more than $61 million, and we remain actively engaged in mediation.”
The Diocese of Columbus, which oversees Bishop Ready High School, said in a statement that Strauss conducted body fat studies on high school wrestlers between 1981 and 1983. The Dioceses said it became aware in 2018 of one case of abuse by Strauss that took place at Bishop Ready during the study, after which it contacted the police and conducted an internal review.
It was not aware of additional reports of sexual misconduct by Strauss until Happ’s announcement.
“The Diocese of Columbus takes the statements of Jeff Happ, and all allegations of misconduct, seriously,” the Diocese said in a statement. “Anyone who suspects they have been a victim of abuse should contact law enforcement and the Diocese of Columbus Safe Environment Office by emailing helpisavailable@columbuscatholic.org or by calling 866-448-0217.”
“We recognize that abuse causes lasting wounds, especially when it occurs in relationships of trust. We also acknowledge that the passage of time does not erase the harm caused by abuse,” the statement continued. “The clergy and faithful of the Diocese of Columbus pray for all who have been sexually abused. May God grant them peace and may they find the needed resources to lead them to a place of healing.”
Happ said that he stayed silent about his abuse for years out of concern for how coming out might affect the 1,7000 firefighters under his leadership. But now retired, he said he feels a weight lifted off his shoulders.
He’s received dozens of text messages from his former colleagues thanking him for his courage to speak out. The outpouring of support has brought tears to his eyes, Happ said.
If sharing his story helps even one person who has been suffering in silence, Happ said it’s worth it.
More high-profile individuals have come forward in recent days with allegations of abuse by Strauss.
Thirty former Ohio State football players, including ex-team captains and NFL veterans, announced on May 7 that they are joining the class action lawsuit against the university.
Days later on May 10, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a brief moving to dismiss the claims of 77 plaintiffs in the lawsuit, saying they fall outside the allowable timeframe.
Yost said any claims of abuse happening before Oct. 21, 1986, should be thrown out. On that day, Congress passed legislation that allows states to be sued for discrimination, including failure to prevent sexual abuse at colleges and universities. The new group of plaintiffs includes three members of the 1980 Rose Bowl team.
Happ called Yost’s motion “shameful” and said the university should settle the cases with survivors instead of stringing them along. Happ added that he hasn’t reached out for legal counsel and doesn’t plan to join the lawsuits at this time.
Strauss worked for the university from 1978 to 1998 in the athletics department and in the student health center. An independent investigation released by the university in 2019 found that Strauss abused at least 177 male student athletes during his career there. Investigators also found university officials first received complaints of Strauss’ misconduct as early as 1979.
Strauss died by suicide in 2005.
Higher education reporter Sheridan Hendrix can be reached at shendrix@dispatch.com and on Signal at @sheridan.120. You can follow her on Instagram at @sheridanwrites.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former Columbus fire chief says Strauss abused him as a high school athlete
Reporting by Sheridan Hendrix and Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
