More than four years in the making, George Clooney’s documentary about the Ohio State University sex abuse scandal involving team physician Dr. Richard Strauss will premiere Tuesday, June 17, on MAX (soon to be rebranded as HBO MAX).
The film, now called Surviving Ohio State, was announced in February 2021 as a joint production by Clooney’s Smokehouse Pictures, Sports Illustrated Studios and 101 Studios based on Jon Wertheim’s October 2020 story, “Why Aren’t More People Talking About the Ohio State Sex Abuse Scandal?”
Lawsuits, reports to OSU, and a law firm investigation conducted for OSU revealed about 2,200 total instances of fondling and 127 instances of rape attributed to Strauss, according to The Associated Press.
Strauss was the team doctor for 17 varsity sports and a physician at the university’s Student Wellness Center from 1978 to 1998. He moved to California in 1998, and died by suicide in 2005.
Surviving Ohio State will premiere Monday, June 9, at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
The MAX trailer released Thursday promotes the story through former students interviewed for the film:
“I walk into a room, and Doc tells me to turn the lights off” . . . “Who you gonna tell?” . . . “It was just a dirty little secret that we tiptoed around, and we just dealt with it” . . . “Our coaches knew” . . . “It’s truly amazing that how many people had to look the other way for him to get away with this that long” . . . “I was never the same person.”
In the promo, a woman explains that Strauss “was in such a position of power because if they [athletes] didn’t go through his exam, they did not compete.”
MAX released this synopsis: “Surviving Ohio State tells the story of the male victims of Dr. Richard Strauss, a sports medicine physician and serial sex abuser employed by The Ohio State University (OSU) from 1978 to 1998. Bravely told by the student-athletes and others who concealed their trauma for years, the film builds on the efforts of whistleblowers and journalists who exposed the scandal in 2018. It also examines the culture that allowed the abuse to continue unchecked for nearly two decades at OSU, as well as the survivors’ present-day fight to hold the school accountable.”
As one man in the film says, “I’m a survivor of sexual assault, but I’m a victim of OSU.”
The Tribeca description says the film examines “accusations that the university ignored the actions of Strauss and allowed them to continue.
“In her poignant examination, [director Eva] Orner utilizes compelling interviews with survivors to shed light on the extensive trauma inflicted and the systemic failures that allowed such misconduct to persist. By meticulously revealing the details of a 2019 investigative report conducted by the university, which brought about payment of over $60 million to victims, she not only brings crucial attention to a dark chapter in collegiate athletics, but also sparks essential dialogue regarding the urgent call for greater protections for students within educational institutions.”
When the project was announced Feb. 22, 2021, Clooney said in the media release, "We’re very pleased to partner with 101 Studios and Sports Illustrated in bringing this devastating and tragic story to light.”
“Numerous” male athletes, including several former All-American wrestlers, tell about their experiences at Ohio State, according to the MAX release. Among those interviewed are Mark Coleman, Adam DiSabato, Michael DiSabato, Will Knight, Al Novakowski, Rocky Ratliff, Dan Ritchie, Mike Schyck, Stephen Snyder-Hill, and wrestling referee Frederick Feeney.
Oscar- and Emmy-winning filmmaker Orner (Out of Iraq; Taxi to the Dark Side; Burning; Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion) directed the film. Production began in June 2022.
Wertheim, Sports Illustrated executive editor and 60 Minutes correspondent, is an executive producer on the film along with David Hutkin, Bob Yari, Ron Burkle, Corey Salter, Colin Smeeton and Marc Rosen. It was produced by Clooney and his longtime writing/producing partner Grant Heslov, and David C. Glasser.
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