A 41-year-old female massage therapist working independently from the university “who engaged in inappropriate and exploitative behavior targeting members of the Ohio State football team” has been banned from Ohio State’s campus and had her license permanently revoked by the State Medical Board of Ohio.
An independent investigation by Columbus law firm Barnes & Thornburg, which interviewed 117 current and former Ohio State football players and 44 current and former Ohio State coaches and staff members, found that she “carried out a scheme for what appeared to fulfill her personal infatuation with Ohio State football student athletes.”
Though the investigation “did not reveal” that her “interactions with the football student athletes rose to the level of any crimes,” Ohio State says it shared the report with the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said the university also sent the report to the NCAA and the Big Ten, but that the NCAA has already agreed with Ohio State's position that players did not receive any benefits that would constitute NCAA violations, which the investigative report also determined.
The massage therapist, who was not identified in the report but was identified as Robyn Bassani by cleveland.com, was hand-delivered two letters from Smith and Ohio State director of public safety Monica Moll dated Thursday that alerted her to Ohio State's investigation and barred her from contacting any members of the athletics program through any means, purchasing tickets, using complimentary tickets and donating to the university. They also informed her of her ban from campus and that she would be arrested for trespassing if she disobeys.
The investigation stemmed from a complaint filed with the State Medical Board of Ohio on March 14, 2020, which alleged that “a female licensed massage therapist was offering free therapeutic massages to members of the Ohio State University football team, using those massages as a means to initiate sexual interactions with some of the football student athletes, and then demanding payment.” No information was found in the investigation that indicated any Ohio State employees knew about the massage therapist’s behavior until March 2021.
From the investigative report:
The massage therapist’s conduct targeted OSU football student athletes who were young (ranging from 18 to early 20s), but the evidence uncovered during the investigation did not reveal that her interactions with the football student athletes rose to the level of any crimes. According to the current and former football student athletes interviewed, the sexual activities that occurred were consensual. Further, in the instances where she attempted to initiate sexual activity during a massage (e.g., where she made brief contact with their genitals while giving them massages), those football student athletes characterized the touching as incidental and stated that while it was unwanted, she stopped the inappropriate touching when the football student athletes objected.
The massage therapist had no connection to OSU, its Athletic Department, or to anyone connected to the University. The investigation found no evidence that the massage therapist is or was acting on behalf of an agent or any particular person or entity in professional or collegiate sports, much less on behalf of OSU athletics. Rather, the facts indicate that she seemed to be acting for her own sexual gratification and that she acted alone. Accordingly, there is no foundation for a finding that “extra benefits” were provided to football student athletes or that the rules addressing preferential treatment, benefits, or services apply under the NCAA bylaws.
The full statement released by the university:
In March 2021, the university became aware that the State Medical Board of Ohio investigated an independent massage therapist who engaged in inappropriate and exploitative behavior targeting members of the Ohio State football team. The university has confirmed that the Medical Board has taken action, and this individual has had her license permanently revoked.
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. An experienced legal and compliance resource, Barnes & Thornburg, led the independent investigation, and has completed its work. Barnes & Thornburg found that no university or athletic department staff had knowledge of the massage therapist’s activities. Her actions were part of a scheme to exploit football student-athletes and were in violation of her state license. In addition, Ohio State does not believe the massage therapist’s actions trigger NCAA rules or form the basis for NCAA violations. While no self-reporting is required, Ohio State proactively shared the exploitative behavior with the NCAA, and a report has been made to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.
For transparency, we are making the report and any associated public records available at this time. All student-athletes on the football team, along with coaches and staff, participated in this process. Based on the findings of the investigation, the university, through its departments of Public Safety and Athletics, has banned the massage therapist from campus and locations where students are lodging or living and has served her with a cease and desist order regarding any additional contact with students, coaches or staff.
Smith praised Ohio State’s football players for their cooperation with the investigation and praised Ryan Day and his staff for creating a culture in which players felt comfortable discussing the situation.
“I’m thankful that our student-athletes, our coaches and staff were honest, forthright and open during the investigation, and I’m really thankful that they maintained confidentiality, affording the investigation the opportunity to operate without distraction and be able to operate with integrity,” Smith said Thursday.
Per the investigative report, 83 of the 117 football players interviewed had no knowledge of or interaction with the massage therapist. Of the 34 who did, “9 football student athletes either interacted with her over social media or directly knew about her from other football student athletes, 20 football student athletes received massages only, and 5 football student athletes acknowledged during interviews that they engaged in sexual activities with the massage therapist ... All of the football student athletes who engaged in sexual encounters described them as consensual.”
Bassani disputed the findings of the investigation to cleveland.com, telling Doug Lesmerises that “the report that I targeted these men for my own sexual gratification couldn’t be further from the truth.” She said that she did have a consensual sexual relationship with two Ohio State football players, but that she “never approached them for sex. Ever.”
“If we entered a sexual relationship, which I had with two of them, it was always initiated by them. I would never initiate due to the fact that I was working with them in a professional setting,” Bassani told cleveland.com. “Once we crossed that line, we never worked in a professional setting again.”
