Jim Jordan: ‘To Think That I Would Not Stand Up For My Athletes Is Ridiculous’

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 11: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH ) speaks with reporters ahead of a House Republican conference meeting July 11, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Jordan, a founding member of the House Freedom C... WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 11: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH ) speaks with reporters ahead of a House Republican conference meeting July 11, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Jordan, a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, is under fire for his handling of alleged sexual abuse by a team doctor at Ohio State University where he was an assistant wrestling coach. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said Wednesday that it was “ridiculous” to think he wouldn’t have stood up for student wrestlers at Ohio State University if he truly knew a school doctor was sexually abusing them, as some former wrestlers have claimed.

“I’m telling the truth,” Jordan told reporters. “Look, I stood up to the speaker of the house from my home state, I stood up to the IRS and I’ve stood up to the FBI. To think that I would not stand up for my athletes is ridiculous.”

After news first broke last week that former OSU wrestlers had accused Jordan of knowingly ignoring the late Dr. Richard Strauss sexual’s abuse when Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach at the school, the rightwing Ohio congressman has continued to deny knowledge of what the wrestlers say was systematic and widely known behavior.

More and more former wrestlers have since claimed Jordan knew what was going on. The congressman in turn hired a conservative PR firm as former coaches and fellow Republican congressman have come to his defense.

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