House Freedom Caucus co-founder Rep. Jim Jordan claims he knows nothing about sexual abuse of student-athletes by a team doctor while he was an assistant coach on the team, and Donald Trump is standing behind Jordan “100 percent.” But it’s now Jordan vs. five former wrestlers who are speaking out—one of the latest men to come forward makes it very clear that he’s not motivated by political opposition to Jordan. In fact, Shawn Dailey is a Republican who considers Jordan “a close friend” and gave money to Jordan’s very first political campaign, in 1994. But:
“What happened drove me out of the sport,” said Dailey, a married father of two who works as a fundraiser for an Ohio college. “So I was surprised to hear Jim say that he knew nothing about it."
“Jimmy’s a good guy,” Dailey added. “But to say that he had no knowledge of it, I would say that’s kind of hurtful.”
He corroborated the account of former wrestler Dunyasha Yetts, who said he told Jordan directly that when he went to Dr. Richard Strauss for a thumb injury, Strauss’s response was to try to pull down his shorts. Another former wrestler and former UFC world champion said of Jordan’s denials that “There’s no way unless he’s got dementia or something that he’s got no recollection of what was going on at Ohio State.”
But “I don’t believe them at all. I believe him,” said Donald Trump at a rally Thursday night. “Jim Jordan is one of the most outstanding people I’ve met since I’ve been in Washington. I believe him 100 percent. No question in my mind. I believe Jim Jordan 100 percent. He’s an outstanding man.”