If you’ve spent any time on Max or scrolling through true crime threads lately, you’ve probably seen the chatter about surviving ohio state videos. It’s heavy stuff. We aren't talking about a "day in the life" vlog where a freshman complains about the lack of parking near Mirror Lake. This is about the Eva Orner documentary that premiered in 2025, produced by George Clooney, which finally dragged one of the largest scandals in collegiate history into the bright, uncomfortable light of a streaming screen.
Honestly, the term "surviving" isn't hyperbole here.
For decades, the story of Dr. Richard Strauss was whispered in locker rooms and then buried by a massive institutional machine. Strauss was a team doctor at The Ohio State University from 1978 to 1998. During those twenty years, he committed over 2,800 instances of sexual misconduct. We're talking about student-athletes—wrestlers, divers, gymnasts—who went in for a routine check-up and left with a trauma they’d carry for half a century. The surviving ohio state videos and the documentary they stem from aren't just about the abuse; they’re about the silence that followed.
Why the Strauss Scandal is Surfacing Now
People often ask why this is blowing up in 2025 and 2026 when Strauss died back in 2005. It’s a fair question. The reality is that the legal dam didn't truly break until the last few years.
The documentary Surviving Ohio State really changed the game. It gave a face to the names in the Perkins Coie report—that massive 232-page investigation the university funded. You see guys like Mike Schyck and Adam DiSabato on screen. These aren't just "victims" in a PDF. They are All-American wrestlers. Men who "bled scarlet and gray" but were fundamentally let down by the people they trusted as parental figures.
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The Jim Jordan Connection
You can’t talk about these videos without mentioning the political elephant in the room. Rep. Jim Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach at OSU during the Strauss era. The documentary features clips of Jordan flatly denying he knew anything.
But then the film cuts to the survivors.
Guys like Dan Ritchie and Dunyasha Yetts claim they told the coaching staff exactly what was happening in the sauna and the exam rooms. This conflict—the word of powerful politicians versus the lived experience of former athletes—is why these videos go viral. It’s a clash of narratives. The film even reveals that Jordan allegedly called former wrestlers to ask for their public support once the press started sniffing around. Nobody gave it to him.
What the Surviving Ohio State Videos Actually Show
If you’re looking for these videos, you’ll find a mix of the official HBO Max documentary, YouTube breakdowns from legal experts, and raw interviews from survivors.
- The Documentary Footage: This is the high-production stuff. It uses archival footage from the 80s and 90s, juxtaposed with emotional, modern-day interviews.
- The "Student B" Testimony: There are clips floating around of the anonymous "Student B" from the Perkins Coie report. He was the one who arguably started the collapse of the cover-up.
- The Courtroom Updates: Because the legal battle is ongoing, you'll see local news clips from stations like WSYX (ABC6) showing status reports on settlements.
The university has already paid out over $60 million to nearly 300 survivors. But for many of the men in these videos, the money is secondary. They want the university to admit that officials—coaches, administrators, deans—knew and did nothing.
The Cultural Impact of the Footage
It’s easy to dismiss this as just another "true crime" binge. But it’s different. This isn't a whodunnit. We know who did it. The "surviving" part of the title refers to the institutional betrayal.
The surviving ohio state videos have sparked a massive conversation about "Start By Believing" campaigns. At Ohio University (the one in Athens, not Columbus), they actually created a 30-minute documentary called Start by Believing to show how a survivor-centered process works. It’s a sharp contrast to the way OSU handled things for twenty years.
The documentary also touches on the "locker room culture." There’s a specific kind of pressure on male athletes to "tough it out." To not be the guy who complains. When you watch Mike Schyck talk about how he didn't choose Ohio State for the school, but for the coaches, you realize how deep the betrayal goes. He viewed them as family.
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Key Figures You’ll See in the Clips
- Eva Orner: The director. She’s an Oscar winner, and you can tell by the way she weaves the timeline together.
- Rocky Ratliff: A former wrestler who has been a vocal leader for the survivors. His emotional reactions during the filming are some of the most shared clips online.
- Stephen Snyder-Hill: An OSU alumnus who brings a broader perspective to the abuse that happened outside of just the athletic department.
How to Approach This Content Safely
Look, this stuff is triggering. Most of the surviving ohio state videos come with heavy content warnings for a reason. They discuss sexual violence, suicide, and deep-seated PTSD.
If you're watching these for research or to understand the history of the university, take breaks. It’s a lot to process. The documentary doesn't hold back. It’s meant to make you uncomfortable because the reality of what happened under the floorboards of the Jerome Schottenstein Center and the old Larkins Hall was uncomfortable.
The university’s official stance, voiced through people like spokesperson Ben Johnson, is that they are committed to "covering the cost of professionally certified counseling services." That’s a start. But the survivors in the videos argue that the university is still fighting them in court over Title IX technicalities.
Actionable Steps for Those Interested in the Case
If you want to move beyond just watching and actually understand the context or support the cause, here’s how to do it.
First, read the Perkins Coie report. It’s public. It’s long, but it’s the primary source that the documentary is built on. It lays out the facts without the cinematic music.
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Second, follow organizations like 1in6 or Zero Abuse Project. They provide resources specifically for male survivors of sexual abuse, which is a demographic that often feels invisible in these conversations.
Third, if you are a student or alum, look into the current Title IX safeguards at your institution. The "Strauss era" happened because there were no checks and balances. Understanding how your school handles reports today is the best way to ensure history doesn't repeat itself.
Finally, keep the conversation focused on accountability. The goal of the surviving ohio state videos isn't to trash a university’s reputation for fun; it's to force a massive institution to look in the mirror and say, "We failed them, and we won't let it happen again."
The legal battles aren't over. As of early 2026, there are still hundreds of civil lawsuits moving through the system. The U.S. Supreme Court even weighed in on whether these claims could move forward. This isn't just a "video trend"—it's a continuing legal and cultural reckoning that will likely define the university's legacy for the next decade.