Will Knight, a former wrestler for Ohio State University, called out New York Republican and MAGA extremist Elise Stefanik for praising Ohio Republican Representative Jim Jordan as a "fighter" in his bid for Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Jordan removed himself from contention Thursday morning after losing two votes for the coveted position.
But Knight delivered an indictment of Jordan's character—and Stefanik's endorsement—given how he ignored reports of sexual abuse at Ohio State while he was a wrestling coach.
You can hear what Knight said in the video below.
Of Stefanik's praise for Jordan, Knight said:
"The funny thing is that when people always call Jim Jordan a fighter, and I always wonder who he’s fighting for, because he had a real opportunity to fight for us and the people that he coached and the people that he recruited at the Ohio State, and all he’s done is turn his back on us, so I don’t know what the fighter thing is."
"I know he used to be a fighter, I know he used to be a good wrestler, but he’s not a good fighter for anyone else that I know of."
He then criticized Jordan and his actions more directly:
“The common person just sees the little clips of him and him being in Ohio and coaching in Ohio."
"It’s tough here because there’s people who believe in him, and there’s people who believe in the BS that he’s spewing and how he presents himself and, you know, I guess if you want to fool people—and if that’s what they do up on the Hill, then I guess that’s what he’s good at.”
“It’s just disappointing because he still has an opportunity to do right by us. He had an opportunity to help us out, to help us remedy this thing with Ohio State, and he chose not to do it with hundreds of athletes that he was associated with, that as a coach, you’re just supposed to help protect and mentor into manhood.”
Knight's words once again bring to light Jordan's alleged actions during his tenure as an assistant wrestling coach with Ohio State University's wrestling program.
Jordan, who worked for the university between 1987 and 1995, has been criticized by former wrestlers who said he had been aware of but did not respond to, allegations of sexual misconduct by former wrestling team physician Richard Strauss, who died by suicide in 2005.
Jordan refused to cooperate with investigations into Strauss and described his accusers as "pawns in a political plot" even while facing legal action in response to his denials.
Many have condemned Jordan and Stefanik's actions.
Jordan has not only denied any knowledge of the abuse—he's received support from prominent Republicans despite it.
Earlier this month, South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace stated she is "not familiar or aware" of the sexual abuse allegations even though she herself has defended victims of sexual assault and has spoken about her own experience as a survivor.
Similarly, Florida Representative Byron Donalds dismissed the allegations, suggesting they'd already "been dealt with." He told reporters he is "not getting into stuff like that from years ago" and said he is focused on electing a new House Speaker.
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