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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forumsjordan has basically admitted that he knew, but the conversations didn't count because they happened
This is NO excuse at all.
Asha Rangappa
?Verified account @AshaRangappa_
Jul 7
Asha Rangappa Retweeted Matt Gaetz
Um, @jim_jordan has basically admitted that he knew, but the conversations didn't count because they happened in a locker room.
Link to tweet
https://www.thedailybeast.com/7th-former-wrestler-rep-jim-jordan-definitely-knew-about-abuse
thedailybeast.com
7th Former Wrestler: Rep. Jim Jordan Definitely Knew About Abuse
10-12 minutes
A seventh former wrestler at Ohio State University has come forward to accuse Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) of turning a blind eye to alleged sexual abuse by the schools athletic doctor several decades ago. David Range, a wrestler at the school in the late 1980s, told The Washington Post on Saturday that Jordan, the assistant wrestling coach from 1987 to 1995, was present for conversations about the alleged sexual misconduct by Richard Strauss. Jordan definitely knew that these things were happeningyes, most definitely. It was there. He knew about it because it was an everyday occurrence, he said. We talked about it all the time in the locker room while Jordan was present, he said. Jordan has been accused of covering up the alleged abuse by several former wrestlers, though he has denied ever being aware of the allegations. On Friday, he told Fox News, Conversations in a locker room are a lot different than people coming up and talking about abuse.
Gothmog
(145,176 posts)Tucker08087
(621 posts)Please stay with me. This is long, but important... We are in a very red area of southern NJ. Trump Country all the way.
My son started flag football when he was 4. Hes an oversized kid. (Not heavy. Just really big.) Because of his size, they made him play with 8th graders when he was in 4th grade pop warner. All the big 8th graders played for the middle school. They needed a center, and that was his position. Hes not aggressive, and especially not at that age. It was hell, but he was stubborn and determined. His little kid coach actually called him and told him if he could survive the year, hed be a better player because nobody at the 4th grade level could challenge him to become better. So he did it. That year, and then two more, until he could try out for the 7th grade school team. And he was really good. Not future NFL good, but he played both sides, center and nosegaurd, and the other kids were afraid to practice against him even though he was often punished with having to run suicides because he refused to hurt his guys.
So how does this relate?
My son lived for football. He went through hell to continue to play. Listening to him watch an NFL game is like an education in football. He sees it all before it happens. He calls the plays along with the coaches. He knows football. He breathes it. (And to add to the story, he is legally blind and worked with a retired NFL coach who coached a famous quarterback with the same vision issue and taught him how to both play successfully with the issue as well as hide it from opposing teams.)
So, again, why does this relate?
My son no longer plays football. In 7th grade, he was sexually assaulted in the locker room after practice. Over and over again. I didnt know. Then he called me on his cell one afternoon screaming that he was naked and standing on a toilet in a stall and they were crawling under to get to him, pulling him down to the floor. He thought locking himself in the stall would save him. The coaches are in that locker room. He was SCREAMING. I know they heard him. Nobody could have NOT heard it. He dropped the phone and was still screaming. Hes a big kid. He was also 12, and there were 5 of them. I live about a mile away. I was too late.
The coaches told him there were only two choices. They could stand with him, one person, or the team. He realized if they stood with him, there would be no team. He knew he was alone. And that was where it would have ended. So sorry, kid. Except they were dealing with the wrong kid. The day before the last game, he turned in his uniform, along with a letter to the coaches apologizing for letting them down with a championship game on the line, as well as an attachment of a letter to the board of ed and all administration. He said to the coaches that he took an oath to stay for the season, and he wasnt a quitter, but he had come to realize that they let HIM down, not the other way around. In the letter to everyone else, he made a point to mention the times he had verbally told the coaches. He described the assaults and he stated that if these players had done this to a girl, they would have been arrested.( If I had known, myself, before he called me that one day, they WOULD be in jail. )
There is a silence among boys, especially boys discovering their sexuality and wanting desperately to be accepted. He wanted to play. He didnt want to be pointed out as the one. I am, myself, a victim of sexual assault. He knows this now. It seemed too early to discuss it then. I dont know if there is a worse case, but coming forward as a young boy, I believe, was harder.
In the end, if my smart kid had not put it in writing, it was his word against theirs, and they were sticking together. He didnt want anything from them. He just wanted the truth to be known so that it never happens again. Hes at peace, although he misses the game. I still hear his voice on the phone and have thoughts that I should not mention. The coaches didnt commit the assault, but they knew. In Trump terms, they were COMPLICIT. In my terms, they were accomplices. I dont care how old the victim is. You dont stand by and allow it to happen. And if you do, you are one of them.
riversedge
(70,204 posts)the right thing. I hope you find peace.
Tucker08087
(621 posts)I think he has, but Im still mad as hell!!
JohnnyLib2
(11,211 posts)You have a son with rare courage. I hope he understands that more and more across the years. Please give him my congratulations and admiration. I wish I'd had the honor of meeting him at that point.
Tucker08087
(621 posts)Hes not fond of child psychologists, Im sorry to say! I dragged him to quite a few! Luckily, we have a very honest relationship. This was only a few years ago. He was in 7th grade and is now in 9th. He applied to a magnet school for G&T students a few towns over and was thankfully accepted so he doesnt have to see those boys every day, but extracurricular, sports, dances, etc are still at the home school, and Im amazed that he has the guts to go. He attends every dance and goes to every home football game. He has the other disadvantage of being biracial in a very racist town and when he said he was going to take a knee at the home games, I was afraid for him and wanted to be in the stands, but he went alone and stood his ground. I know Im his mom, but hes amazing. There is so much to his story, but it doesnt fit with this particular thread. I never wanted him to know about my own assault. I never really wanted anyone to know. But I thought he deserved to see my soul and the pain and healing I had experienced, and hope by child psychology standards I did the right thing. It was tough. First we had to have the Do you know what sex is? conversation and then the Do you understand what rape means? conversation in the exact same discussion. It wasnt how I pictured the birds and the bees talk to go.
jaxind
(1,074 posts)I am so sorry, Tucker, that this happened to your son (and you!)! What is wrong with our country??! I doubt that there is as much sexual assault in any other developed country. And, I doubt that there are this many people in other countries who would choose to ignore it if they were aware of someone being a victim!
In all honesty, I think they had no idea what to do, and sports are too important. Those kids should have been removed from the team, but its a small town and they need bodies. In my mind, there should have been no second thoughts, no discussion. But I truly believe that if he had quietly gone away, the issue would be mute. I wanted justice and revenge, but not him. He just wanted it to be known. He wanted it known that they knew and did nothing. And he stood by his personal beliefs: He quit only when the official season was over. I dont know how he did it, and Im not sure that I agree, but its his story to control and allowing him to take control seems to have helped him. The two of us have been through a lot together. Too much for his short life. Im happy he can be open with me, but I will never tell him how that phone call haunts me.