COLUMBUS, Ohio –
A now-dead doctor accused of sexual misconduct by former student athletes at Ohio State University said he acted as a team physician at other universities, most of which won’t say if they are reviewing those connections or whether any concerns were raised about him.
Ohio State employment records reviewed by The Associated Press indicate Richard Strauss worked at five schools in the decade between leaving the Navy as a submarine medicine instructor and joining the university in Columbus in 1978.
Strauss researched, taught or practiced medicine at Harvard University, Rutgers University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Washington and the University of Hawaii, according to his resume.
He “remained within the academic community, acting as a part-time team physician at the universities with which I have been associated,” according to a note from Strauss in 1980, around the time he was being considered for a leadership appointment in sports medicine at Ohio State. He didn’t specify which teams with which he worked or in what capacity.
When contacted by the AP, most of the other schools in Strauss’ work history would say or knew little about any ties to him or whether they were reviewing his work and affiliations.
There is no standard response when schools learn a former employee was later accused of abuse, said Djuna Perkins, a lawyer who has conducted sexual misconduct investigations at dozens of universities. Some schools might investigate to ease any concerns, she said, but some might not see the value in that if no accuser has come forward at the institution.
