Ohio State has banned a massage therapist after an independent investigation found she exploited members of the football team.
Ohio State is taking action against a massage therapist who allegedly targeted Buckeye football players with sexual advances.
On Thursday, the school released the conclusions of an independent investigation into “exploitative” behavior by a 41-year-old Cleveland woman.
“Our first concern and top priority is for the safety and well-being of our student-athletes. Within days of learning of these allegations, the university quickly launched an independent investigation of the matter,” the university said in an official statement.
The report alleged she offered free therapeutic massages as a “means to initiate sexual interactions with some of the football student athletes, and then demanding payment.”
This allegedly started in 2018. By 2020, the investigation claims the masseuse contacted recruits under a guise as a team massage therapist.
The therapist herself told Cleveland.com that she did have sexual relationships with two of the players but denied the existence of a scheme to exploit them.
The Ohio Medical Board permanently revoked her license.
Ohio State won’t face penalties for a massage therapist scandal
For now, Ohio State has been upfront with the NCAA about the situation. The Buckeyes don’t believe any “crimes or NCAA rules violations were committed,” according to Joey Kaufman of the Columbus Dispatch.
So what does this all mean for Ohio State? The NCAA has already looked at what happened and agreed that no violations occurred, per Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors.
That means this will be a bizarre footnote to the 2021 offseason unless something comes out of left field to turn the story on its head.
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