Over 100 ex-students across 14 men's sports report sexual misconduct by deceased Ohio State team physician as former wrestling coach and current congressman Jim Jordan continues denying he was told about the abuse

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More than 100 former students have provided firsthand accounts of sexual misconduct by the now-dead Ohio State University team physician at the center of an ongoing investigation, the university said on Friday.

Over 200 former students and university employees have been interviewed by independent investigators reviewing allegations against Richard Strauss involving male athletes from 14 sports as well as his work at the student health center and his off-campus medical office, University President Michael Drake said.

'We are grateful to those who have come forward and remain deeply concerned for anyone who may have been affected by Dr. Strauss' actions,' Drake said. 'We remain steadfastly committed to uncovering the truth.'

Ohio State has urged anyone with information to contact the investigators from Seattle-based law firm Perkins Coie, who are looking into the allegations, what university officials knew and how they responded to any concerns about Strauss.

The university said investigators plan 100 or more additional interviews.  

This undated file photo shows a photo of Dr. Richard Strauss. A lawsuit by four former Ohio State University wrestlers alleges the school failed to stop 'rampant sexual misconduct' by the now-dead team doctor despite being repeatedly informed about his behavior. In the federal lawsuit filed Monday, July 16, 2018, four Ohio men listed as John Does say Strauss sexually assaulted or harassed them in the late 1980s or 1990s

One of the largest schools in the world, Ohio State has nearly 60,000 students enrolled  

Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan was one of the previous interviews. He has publicly denied some wrestlers' claims that he knew about abuse when he was an assistant coach at Ohio State.

Former athletes say they verbally raised concerns about Strauss as early as 1978, near the start of his two decades at the university.

Ohio State has a record of at least one documented complaint against Strauss. Paperwork from 1995 shows the then-director of the student health center said a student's complaint about being inappropriately touched by Strauss during an exam was the first such complaint he'd received.

The documentation that ex-student Steve Snyder-Hill obtained from Ohio State this week shows he complained about Strauss by phone - not by letter, as he'd recalled - and got a letter back from the director, Ted Grace.

Grace now leads student health services at Southern Illinois University. He declined to comment through a spokeswoman there.

Numerous athletes claimed in the filing that such ignorance couldn't have been possible in Larkins Hall, where many teams practiced and university employees exercised. 

Independent investigators are reviewing allegations by men from 14 sports at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio (pictured) about Dr. Richard Strauss

Former athletes say they verbally raised concerns about Strauss as early as 1978, near the start of his two decades at the university

There are stories of Strauss and others lingering by the showers to leer at the young men, peeking over bathroom stalls and through the sauna window at Larkins Hall (pictured) 

There are stories of Strauss and others lingering by the showers to leer at the young men, peeking over bathroom stalls and through the sauna window. 

One former wrestler said the center was filled with 'creepy people', while many - including a former coach - said they complained countless times.   

Russ Hellickson, the wrestling coach who came to Ohio State in the mid-1980s, said he often caught men having sex in the team's practice room and a nearby stairwell.

'It became a real problem because it affected the mental state of a lot of our wrestlers,' he said on a video distributed by one of his former team members. 

'There were times when the athletes themselves would confront people.'

Hellickson, who coached at Ohio State from 1986-2006, said he had numerous conversations with an official in charge of campus recreation and other university administrators.

But, he said, nothing changed for years until the team moved to a new training facility near the end of his tenure.

'All of my administrators recognized that it was an issue for me,' Hellickson said on the video.

Jordan, who joined Ohio State in 1986 and was assistant coach from 1987 to 1995, has claimed he knew nothing about lewd behavior at Larkins Hall.

Former Ohio State wrestlers Mike DiSabato and Dunyasha Yetts claim it would have been impossible for Jordan (pictured) to be unaware because they directly told him about Strauss's abuse. 'I considered Jim Jordan a friend,' DiSabato told NBC News. 'But at the end of the day, he is absolutely lying if he says he doesn't know what was going on'

In an interview with Fox News last week, Jordan said faculty, professors and 'everyone' could shower at Larkins. 

'But again, never saw any type of abuse there, and never drug anyone out,' the congressman claimed.

Independent investigators are reviewing allegations by men from 14 sports about Strauss.  

The allegations that Strauss fondled and groped male athletes during physical examinations and medical treatment date back to the 1970s.

Former Ohio State University student Steve Snyder-Hill discusses a complaint he submitted decades ago about the behavior of Dr. Richard Strauss, during an interview at home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday. A law firm is investigating allegations about alleged sexual abuse by the now-dead physician and what Ohio State knew at the time

He retired as a professor in 1998 and later moved to California, where he killed himself in 2005 at age 67.

And former Ohio State wrestlers Mike DiSabato and Dunyasha Yetts claim it would have been impossible for Jordan to be unaware because they directly told him about Strauss's abuse. 

'I considered Jim Jordan a friend,' DiSabato told NBC News. 'But at the end of the day, he is absolutely lying if he says he doesn't know what was going on.'

DiSabato said he reached out to Jordan and told the congressman that he planned to go public with his allegations.

Jordan told him to 'please leave me out of it,' DiSabato claimed. 'He asked me not to get him involved.'  

Yetts, who wrestled at Ohio State in 1993 and 1994, said he and others told Jordan about Strauss.

'I remember I had a thumb injury and went into Strauss' office and he started pulling down my wrestling shorts,' he recalled.

'I'm like, what the f**k are you doing? And I went out and told Russ and Jim what happened. I was not having it. They went in and talked to Strauss.'

Yetts said he and his teammates talked to Jordan numerous times about their interactions with the doctor.

Former wrestler Mike DiSabato (pictured), who reported Strauss to Jordan, said he reached out to the congressman before he planned to go public with his allegations