By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: HBO
Surviving Ohio State is a new documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and is now streaming on Prime Video. The documentary centers on the victims who suffered sexual abuse from Ohio State’s sports medicine physician, Dr. Richard Strauss.
George Clooney produced the documentary, which was directed by Eva Orner, an Academy Award winner.
Dr. Strauss was committing these acts from 1978 to 1998. It’s a powerful story because many people are wondering why he got away with it for so long and why so many people from the university kept it quiet.
Many of these eyes were telling their stories of their experience dealing with Strauss. One heartbreaking story was when one of the players lost his hockey scholarship, and his life was never the same after that. A lot of the students from the university didn’t tell their parents or anyone about what they were going through.
The case of USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to many years in prison on sexual assault charges, inspired and motivated the male athletes of the wrestling team and many more to come forward and share their stories in 2018.
Strauss is another case of Nassar. One hundred fifty-six victims spoke out against Nassar and his behavior towards them over the years.
The sad part of the documentary is that the Buckeyes’ wrestling team coaches didn’t support their former players during the entire case. They refused to speak and denied that they knew anything. The coaches turned their backs on the players, hurting them deeply to feel that sense of betrayal.
Strauss committed suicide in 2005. Who knows how many more crimes he committed after he left Ohio State? He got away with it for so long, and it made things worse when the university put him on a pedestal.
Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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