Ex-Ohio State Wrestler Eviscerates GOP Lawmaker’s ‘Fighter’ Praise For Jim Jordan

Former Ohio State University wrestler Will Knight on Tuesday tore down the characterization of speaker nominee Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as a “fighter.” (Watch the video below.)

Fellow Trumper Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) used the term in a speech nominating Jordan before he failed to get enough votes for the speaker’s gavel.

The glowing reference to his time on the “wrestling mat” drew audible gasps in the House, presumably because Jordan’s stint as an assistant coach at Ohio State included accusations that he overlooked the allegations of sexual abuse of team members by school doctor Richard Strauss.

Knight was one of the athletes who said he was molested, and he wasn’t impressed by Stefanik’s praise for the Ohio congressman, which CNN’s Abby Phillip replayed for him.

“The funny thing is that when people always call Jim Jordan a fighter, and I always wonder who he’s fighting for,” Knight said. ”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.”

Jordan fell short on the first ballot of his bid to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as speaker amid continued Republican dithering. A second vote has been slated for Wednesday.

Knight complimented Jordan for believing in him and giving him a chance as a walk-on back in 1992. He said that while Jordan was also a staunch conservative back then, they could agree to disagree.

But that’s not the man who’s seeking to snag the speakership, he said. “There’s people who believe in the BS that he’s spewing,” Knight added.

“It’s just disappointing because he still has an opportunity to do right by us,” Knight said, per Mediaite. “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.”

Jordan has denied any knowledge of the abuse.