The true story behind Surviving Ohio State on HBO, explained
Surviving Ohio State is a new and upcoming HBO documentary that explores the case of the sexual abuse scandal involving Dr. Richard Strauss at Ohio State University.
The documentary will premiere this June 17, 2025, on HBO and its streaming service Max. The documentary made its world premiere on June 9, 2025, at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Surviving Ohio State is produced by George Clooney and features interviews with victims of Strauss, an Ohio State athletics doctor, from 1978 to 1998.
The documentary highlights what happened to them and how they attempted to hold the university accountable for Strauss’ actions. The HBO documentary is directed and produced by Eva Orner.
What is the true story behind the documentary Surviving Ohio State?
Surviving Ohio State, which explores the Ohio State University abuse scandal, is based on the 2020 Sports Illustrated article Why Aren't More People Talking About the Ohio State Sex Abuse Scandal? by Jon Wertheim.
The documentary has confessionals of the male victims of Dr. Richard Strauss, who concealed their trauma for years. Dr. Richard Strauss was a physician and serial sex abuser employed by The Ohio State University (OSU) in the Athletics Department and the Student Health Center from 1978 to 1998.
Throughout his tenure, there were numerous accounts of sexual abuse against him by the student-athletes. But it didn't become public until 1996, when Strauss was suspended from his duties.
However, this did not stop him from abusing his patients, and he continued to abuse them at an off-campus clinic until his retirement from the university in 1998.
When an independent investigation into these allegations was launched in April 2018, the truth came to light. The investigation was conducted by the law firm Perkins Coie.
Soon after that, in July 2018, several former wrestlers came forward to accuse former head coach Russ Hellickson and U.S. representative Jim Jordan, who was an assistant coach at OSU from 1987 to 1994, of knowing what was going on but failing to take action.
However, Jordan has said that no student-athlete reported sexual abuse to him.
Following investigations, a report was released in May 2019, which concluded that Strauss had abused at least 177 male student-patients and that the university was aware of what was going on as early as 1979.
Since then, the number of victims has been estimated to be much higher, and the university has settled with almost 300 victims for more than $60 million.
The report stated that OSU was at fault for failing to report Strauss's conduct to law enforcement authorities. Five lawsuits against the university are still pending.
Surviving Ohio State features interviews with survivors of Dr. Strauss' abuse
Surviving Ohio State presents viewers with interviews with former student athletes and others who were victims of Strauss and will also examine the culture at the university, which allowed the abuse to go on for nearly two decades without authorities taking any legal steps to stop it.
It was only the survivors' efforts to hold the school accountable that eventually led to the case gaining attention from the media and authorities, which eventually led to an investigation.
Surviving Ohio State features interviews with student-athlete alumni, including Mark Coleman, Adam DiSabato, Michael DiSabato, Will Knight, Al Novakowski, Rockey Ratliff, Dan Ritchie, and Mike Schyck.
Catch Surviving Ohio State premiering this Tuesday on HBO and its streaming platform, Max.
