WASHINGTON — In a sign that Representative Jim Jordan is unlikely to shake a sexual misconduct scandal anytime soon, five former wrestlers sued Ohio State University this week, accusing university officials of knowing that a team doctor was abusing student athletes and doing nothing to stop him.

One of the lawsuits specifically mentions Mr. Jordan, Republican of Ohio, who served as the wrestling team’s assistant coach in the late 1980s and early 1990s, citing news reports that wrestlers had informed him of the abuse. Lawyers pursuing both cases say they expect to call the influential conservative as a witness.

Mr. Jordan has vehemently denied allegations that he ignored sexual misconduct, and so far he has maintained the backing of his party’s heavyweights, including President Trump, Speaker Paul D. Ryan, and Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the Republican whip.

But the decision by the former athletes to sue the university means that more twists could come.

“Anyone who would have been in the chain of command” or an authority figure in the university’s athletic program is “certainly someone we’ll be interested in deposing,” said Joseph Sauder, a lawyer representing one of the former wrestlers.