Former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman only spent one season wrestling at Ohio State University (OSU), but it’s a season that would drastically affect his life for decades after.
Coleman was one of many athletes at OSU who were sexually abused and assaulted by Dr. Richard Strauss.
“We never thought a man could sexually abuse a man,” says Coleman to Sports Illustrated. “We just played it off. We joked about it. But I don’t think we were really joking.”
Dr. Strauss oversaw a lot of athletes from all kinds of sports during his time as OSU, with those athletes giving the doctor such nicknames as Dr. Feel Good, Dr. Jelly Fingers, Dr. Balls, Dr. Nuts and Dr. Drop-Your-Drawers. The former UFC champion says that the affects of what Dr. Strauss did to him didn’t become apparent until years later.
“I didn’t know how bad it was affecting me, but now I look back and I was very angry. I went into practice very angry a lot of times, storming into the wrestling room and screaming. I was confused. I spun it as, well, it’s good to be angry, I’m gonna have a hell of a practice and kick someone’s ass. But now I realize, it wasn’t good and I realize why,” says Coleman.
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