The statue peers forward, his stance aggressive. His headset in one hand and game plan in the other, he could be stalking the sidelines, looking for a way to beat Ohio State. It stands in front of the building named for him — Schembechler Hall, home to the football program whose foundations are rooted in the mythology surrounding Bo Schembechler, Michigan football’s most storied coach. Twenty-seven miles to the northeast, Bo’s son, Matt, stood in front of news media members Thursday afternoon to tell the world he was sexually assaulted in 1969 by a football team doctor, told his dad about it and nothing was done. The allegation, coupled with those from several other football players — including two on Thursday, who said they told Bo about being sexually assaulted by the same doctor only to be ignored — has rocked the university already shocked by more than a year of evidence about how Dr. Robert Anderson used his position to sexually assault hundreds of students over the course of decades. It has some wondering if it’s time to mothball Bo’s statue, much like Penn State University did after discovering its legendary football coach Joe Paterno didn’t do enough to stop one of his assistant coaches from sexually assaulting young boys. During the news conference, neither Matt nor two other former players or their lawyers called for the statue to come down, but repeatedly said there must be accountability for the longtime coach.”Bo knew,” Matt’s attorney Mick Grewal said during the news conference in Novi. “If Bo listened to his son, these two gentlemen (Daniel Kwiatkowski and Gilvanni Johnson) would not be sitting up here today” and hundreds would not have been abused.”Anderson’s abuse was the worst kept secret at Michigan,” he said. “Anderson was able to continue this abuse for so long because he was supported by a culture that wanted to preserve the reputation.”When asked specifically whether there were any plans to take down the statue or rename the football building, or whether any discussions had been started on those topics, the university, through spokesman Rick Fitzgerald, declined to comment. Anderson went on to work as a doctor at U-M until 2002, including being the head medical doctor for Schembechler’s teams. Hundreds of U-M athletes have accused Anderson of sexually assaulting them, including fondling their genitals and giving them rectal exams, even when they showed up with sore elbows or sore throats. Other U-M students have accused Anderson of giving out draft deferrals from the Vietnam Wwar in exchange for sex acts. Hundreds of men have sued the university for not stopping Anderson. The cases are currently in mediation in federal court. In May, an investigation conducted by the law firm WilmerHale concluded that Anderson’s misconduct was reported “several times between 1978 and 1981,” but that a “senior University administrator … did not take appropriate action.”During the news conference, the university issued a statement.
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