Jim Jordan attacks former wrestlers who say they were abused

[babylonsister]

https://thinkprogress.org/jim-jordan-attacks-former-wrestlers-who-say-they-were-abused-0fe1f1506d8b/

Jim Jordan attacks former wrestlers who say they were abused
In a Fox News interview, Jordan says the men are lying for personal gain.
Tara Culp-Ressler
Jul 7, 2018, 10:14 am


Amid mounting allegations that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) ignored widespread allegations of sexual abuse at Ohio State, Jordan took to Fox News on Friday evening to defend himself — and to attack the former wrestlers who allege he turned a blind eye to the abuse they suffered.

At least six former Ohio State wrestlers say Jordan knew about ongoing abuse at the hands of team doctor Dr. Richard Strauss, who has been accused of molesting hundreds of student-athletes over two decades. Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach at the university in the 1990s. Strauss committed suicide in 2005.
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“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,” one of the accusers, former UFC world champion Mark Coleman, told media outlets this week. A former wrestling coach who once worked with Jordan described the toxic environment for Ohio State wrestlers as a “cesspool of deviancy.”

Over the past week, Jordan has insisted he knew nothing about Strauss’ alleged sexual abuse. During Friday’s interview with Bret Baier, Jordan admitted he had heard some things among the team — but repeatedly downplayed these conversations as “locker room talk.”

“Conversations in a locker room are a lot different than people coming up and talking about abuse. No one ever reported any abuse to me,” he insisted.

When Baier pressed Jordan about why multiple former wrestlers are all saying the same thing — that Jordan knew about the abuse yet took no action — Jordan lashed out at the men, calling them liars and opportunists.

“I know they know what they’re saying is not accurate,” Jordan said.

Jordan specifically singled out Mike DiSabato, a former wrestler who has given several media interviews about the alleged sexual predation at Ohio State. Jordan has previously claimed he’s being “bullied” by DiSabato.

“Mike DiSabato has a vendetta against Ohio State. He lost a licensing agreement with Ohio State. He is out to get Ohio State. He has a vendetta against our family,” Jordan told Baier.

Later in the interview, he added, “Mike DiSabato, his whole pattern is to latch on to high profile people for personal gain.”

Jordan stopped short of claiming the alleged victims are orchestrating a conspiracy against him — but he did insinuate the controversy is designed to bring him down while he’s making national headlines. “I think the timing is suspect,” he said.

Jordan has recently been in the news for pressing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about the ongoing special counsel investigation into potential Trump campaign collusion with Russia. His name has also been floated as a possible contender to succeed Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as Speaker of the House.

The Ohio congressman is now facing calls to resign.

[PCIntern]

1. Of course, a lot of straight guys try to make money

By saying that they were sexually abused. It’s really common: a lot of my friends in high school told everyone and asked to be paid for the information.

Yeah right....

just in case.

[spooky3]

10. It's ridiculous. Nt

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Right out of the Trump/Roy Moore playbook.

[RandomAccess]

31. Pretty much ALL perps

[Guilded Lilly]

3. Jordan bases his professional life on lying and being an opportunist...

This is a pattern, of course, with cowards. Blames the victims. Project, deflect, rinse repeat.

Where else were these (then) young men going to talk if not in the locker room?
Jordan’s lame excuses are soaked in The Cretin’s brand of no-character whining.

[beachbum bob]

4. Jordan digging his own grave as he lies after lies....

He knew and he protected OSU instead of his kids

[spooky3]

9. But the irony is that this does NOT protect OSU.

Look at the expense and time they now have to put in.

Look at what happened to Penn State and MSU.

[beachbum bob]

15. Not now but then it did...Jordan trying to save himself as being

a co-conspirator/enabler of the abuse and coverup

[spooky3]

27. I disagree. If OSU has been notified by Jordan and had taken

Appropriate action, people would have praised them for getting rid of the “bad apple.”

The only party who benefited was the doctor.

[mr_lebowski]

32. That'd sorta depend on how long it'd been going on before he arrived, and how many higher-ups

were aware of it, and how extensive it was discovered to be ... PRIOR to Jordan's reporting of the problem to authorities.

If the answer to a number of the above questions was (way too long, way too many, etc), then 'action' may well not have proven in any real sense 'exculpatory'.

Not that this is an excuse in any way, I'm just sayin' ...

[spooky3]

34. The big "if" in my statement is if OSU had taken appropriate action.

From your description, that “if” would definitely not be met.

[mr_lebowski]

37. And I'm saying by the time Jordan reported it and they THEN took appropriate action ...

It may've turned out to be 'too late' for them to have reasonably salvaged their public reputation via said actions.

Without knowing how long it was going on/how many people 'knew' ... I don't think anyone could say outright that a responsible response to Jordan's reporting ... would have 'been enough'.

[Jim__]

5. Lock him up!

[Gothmog]

6. This defense is not going to work

Link to tweet

[alwaysinasnit]

19. I wonder if Mr. Coleman will still "love" Jordan after being called a liar and an opportunist along

with the other accusers of his enabling.

[TeamPooka]

7. Jim Jordan likes to wrestle with young men.

[smirkymonkey]

24. Yeah, like that doesn't set off any alarms.

I think he's worried that they are going to start digging deeper.

[spooky3]

8. Nixonian deniability: "locker conversations are not a

Report.”

Jordan wants us to believe he’s innocent because no one gave him three copies of a .pdf with the title, “We are reporting abuse and asking you to get it stopped.”

[malaise]

11. What I want to know is how a coach could call sexual

abuse locker room talk?
For that alone he should resign.

[TeamPooka]

25. it worked for Trump. the GOP base has been trained by Fox News to believe their lies.

[malaise]

33. No - these are student athletes

It won't work

[TeamPooka]

41. two different audiences. Jordan doesn't care about them. He only speaks to the base.

[Thomas Hurt]

12. it is always a conspiracy when facts turn against a christofascist...seeing as they are always being

persecuted for being white or rich or christian.....ever the victim of illegals, Muslims, Jews, brown people, poor people, liberals, the fed gov't, Obama, Clinton, Soros, and on and on.

[Blue_true]

13. Poor little snowflake.

Republicans always claim everyone but them are lying, yet they have the richest history of lying.

[.99center]

14. Grand Old Pedophiles.

Link to tweet

[Faux pas]

16. Take the effer DOWN

his time is up.

[DeminPennswoods]

17. Read a story that the head wrestling coach physically

removed some of the "oglers" from the showers. If this is true, it's very tough to believe his assistant coach didn't know what was going on, too.

[dalton99a]

22. +1

[no_hypocrisy]

18. "Liars and opportunists"

Class action defamation lawsuit.

Nice going Jordan!

[JDC]

20. Jom Jordan is a horrible human being

Period

[dalton99a]

21. Vile scum.

[tblue37]

23. Silly rabbit, don't you know? IOKIYAR! nt

[uponit7771]

26. How many men have came out so far?

[donkeypoofed]

28. RESIGN! RESIGN! RESIGN!

Just addin' my voice.

[BigmanPigman]

36. That word in not in the GOP vocab.

[Turbineguy]

29. He's using the Trump Razor

(Which I just made up)

"If there is any room for doubt, act guilty!"

[MattP]

30. Jim Jordan comes off as a if cousin Kevin and Uncle Ernie merged with Joe Mcarthy

[SunSeeker]

35. K & R for exposure.

[PatSeg]

38. Oh when will they learn

Lies on top of lies will just bring you down eventually. Best to just tell the truth and take your chances, because if you're lying, you will get caught anyway.

[sarcasmo]

39. Any word from Senator Gillibrand?

[mtngirl47]

44. Snort (was the sound that came out of my mouth when I read this!) n/t

[roamer65]

40. This fucker is toast.

Good. He deserves it.

[Stuart G]

42. I think he will resign within a week. Why?

Too much evidence of his neglect and that he is lying, and has lied about this. But this the real reason, Jordan, just his being there will point the finger at Mr. Trump, the liar in chief. No finger pointing...Mr Jordan, you got to go....

[bdamomma]

43. Jim Jordan

will go down Karma is a bitch isn't it???? After giving Rosenstein all that trouble at that hearing.

[Scurrilous]

45. K&R

[oasis]

46. Gee, are any of Jordan's "Freedom Caucus" pals willing to stick

out their necks in his defense?