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Thirty former Ohio State football players, including some NFL veterans, agreed to join a federal lawsuit accusing the university of failing to stop sexual abuse of student athletes by former team doctor Richard Strauss, according to a lawyer in the case.

Rocky Ratliff, who represents plaintiffs, said the men came forward about eight years after the first lawsuit was filed. In an interview, Ratliff said the players needed to overcome what he described as the shame of revealing that they had been sexually abused by another man and the fear of taking on the university publicly.

Ratliff said the plaintiffs were “tearful and living with it.” He also said the men believe that as the case progresses, they can help convey that it is “OK, even if it is male to male (sexual abuse), to come forward.”

Ohio State has fought lawsuits in federal court since 2018, filed by former student athletes who say the university failed to stop abuse by Strauss, who worked at the school from 1978 to 1998. Hundreds of people have said they were abused by Strauss, who died in 2005.

Ratliff said the 30 men signed letters of agreement to join a lawsuit filed by other student athletes who say they were abused by Strauss. He said only three of the 30 agreed to make their identities public. The Associated Press said it does not identify people who say they’re victims of sexual abuse unless they choose to make their names public.

In interviews, Ratliff said the publicly identified players were Al Washington, Ray Ellis and Keith Ferguson. Washington, now 67, said it was difficult to talk about the abuse he said he suffered and recalled being subjected to “unlawful” physical exams by Strauss when he was 18 or 19. Washington said he and other players tried to make light of what happened with jokes, but that the experience was “really uncomfortable.”

Washington said he did not discuss the abuse for decades until he watched a 2025 documentary film, “Surviving Ohio State,” which brought the memories back. He said, “As a matter of fact, I couldn’t make it through that movie,” adding that “The pain and anguish that I saw, I just couldn’t take.”

In addition to the lawsuit developments, Ohio State said in a statement that it has “sincerely and persistently tried to reconcile with survivors, including former football student-athletes, through monetary and non-monetary means, including settlements, counseling services and other medical treatment.” The university said that as of April 15 it had settled with 317 survivors for more than $61 million and that it remained actively engaged in mediation, according to the statement.

Ratliff said Strauss was a member of the faculty and medical staff at Ohio State and retired in 1998 with emeritus status. He said school trustees revoked that honor three years ago. The lawyer said Washington played linebacker and was a fourth-round draft pick by the New York Jets in 1981 before spending time in the Canadian Football League, while Ellis played safety and spent seven NFL seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns. Ratliff said Ferguson played defensive end and was a fifth-round draft pick by the San Diego Chargers in 1981, later playing for the Detroit Lions.

Ratliff did not identify other players publicly, and he said some former football players reached sealed agreements with the school that kept their names secret. The lawsuit remains in federal court as the claims proceed, according to Ohio State’s statement and the lawyer’s account.