This just popped up in my feed. A piece in the Columbus Dispatch. I found fascinating a “sin” of ommission.
George Clooney has made a deal with HBO (and HBO Max) to show a documentary on the sexual abuse scandal at the Ohio State University which centered on two or more individuals. One was Dr. Richard Strauss, responsible for sexually abusing some 177 athletes at the university over many years.
You could call him the prime actor (or suspect) in the entire scandal.
But there was yet another prominent name who featured heavily in the telling of the story — a man of significant inaction you might say.
He is the man in the picture — insurrectionist-hugger, uber-Trumper, ex-wrestling coach at OSU, Congressman Jim (Gym) Jordan.
(There was one other prominently named individual who also looked the other way, ignoring the athletes complaints, then head coach Russ Hellickson).
But in reading the nicely written promo in the Columbus Dispatch you might never glean that Strauss & Jordan were ever connected, one with the other. The first as the abuser, the second as an enabler, who now pretends he saw nothing, was told nothing.
At no time in the piece does Jim Jordan’s name merit mention. Which is so very odd, until you take into account that the Dispatch is very much a Republican rag, until you take into account that the Dispatch would never put a single foot wrong with one of that city’s largest employers.
HBO is partnering with George Clooney’s Smokehouse Pictures production company and Sports Illustrated Studios/101 Studios on a feature documentary about the alleged sexual abuse by former Ohio State University athletics doctor Richard Strauss, the premium-pay cable network announced Tuesday.
The documentary, produced by Clooney and his collaborator Grant Heslov of Smokehouse Pictures and David Glasser of 101 Studios, will debut on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max, the release said.
Production has just started on the untitled film and no date was given for its expected completion or release.
My money is on the bet that Clooney will not be quite so forgetful about Jim Jordan’s enabling of Dr. Strauss’ actions. If only the film could be released in a timely fashion, say by October, this year.