By Simon Druker
The University of Michigan reached a $490 million settlement Wednesday with victims of the school's former team doctor and director of health services.
File Photo by Steve Pepple/Shutterstock.com
Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The University of Michigan reached a settlement Wednesday, with over 1,000 victims who claim they were sexually assaulted by its former head of health services, the late Dr. Robert Anderson, according to the Detroit News.
The $490 million settlement with Anderson's victims was agreed to late Tuesday night with a formal announcement expected later Wednesday, reports The Athletic. The school had not issued a statement by late Wednesday morning.
Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The University of Michigan reached a settlement Wednesday, with over 1,000 victims who claim they were sexually assaulted by its former head of health services, the late Dr. Robert Anderson, according to the Detroit News.
The $490 million settlement with Anderson's victims was agreed to late Tuesday night with a formal announcement expected later Wednesday, reports The Athletic. The school had not issued a statement by late Wednesday morning.
Anderson worked for the university from 1966 until 2003, where he was also the team physician for Michigan's athletics department. He died in 2008.
A total of $460 million will be paid out to the 1,050 victims, most of whom are men. The remaining $30 million will be set aside for future victims, reports ESPN. Payouts will differ based on the circumstances of each case.
The publication also detailed a 2021 report by a law firm hired by the school to conduct an internal investigation. It found employees were aware of Anderson's behavior, which in some cases, dated back to the 1960s.
"It has been a long and challenging journey, and I believe this settlement will provide justice and healing for the many brave men and women who refused to be silenced," attorney Parker Stinar told ESPN.
Stinar represents 200 victims in the case.
Multiple lawsuits had been in mediation as the university attempted to resolve them. They claim the school became aware of the abuse at one point, but failed to take meaningful action.
The victims, which include a number of former University of Michigan athletes, claim Anderson abused them during medical visits.
The first lawsuit was filed in 2020 by a former wrestler who accused Anderson of abusing him on multiple occasions in the 1980s.
The university first launched an investigation in 2018, reports the Detroit News.
The publication then published an interview with former student Robert Julian Stone, who said he was abused by Anderson during a 1971 medical exam.
Chances were missed to stop U. of Michigan doctor Anderson
By ED WHITE
Jon Vaughn, a former University of Michigan football player from 1988 to 1991 speaks during a news conference in Ann Arbor, Mich. on June 16, 2021. A financial payout for more than 1,000 people — mostly men — who say they were sexually assaulted by former University of Michigan sports doctor Robert Anderson is the latest multimillion settlement involving schools faced with sexual misconduct scandals. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya_File)
DETROIT (AP) — Complaints that a University of Michigan sports doctor was committing sexual assault went back decades, long before a $490 million settlement this week with victims, but no one stepped forward to ensure that Robert Anderson would be kicked off campus.
The many missed opportunities were described in detail last May when a law firm hired by the university released its findings about Anderson, who died in 2008 after working at U-M for nearly 40 years.
WilmerHale found at least 20 occasions when a student, athlete or other individual spoke with university staff about Anderson.
“There was an undercurrent of rumors, jokes, innuendo and expressions of concern about Dr. Anderson throughout his career at the university,” the report said. “University personnel failed to appreciate the significance of what they heard. We found no evidence that anyone inquired into his conduct or referred him for investigation.”
Yet WilmerHale also found critical events that could have made a difference, according to the report:
A WRESTLER COMPLAINS
In 1975, Tad DeLuca wrote a 10-page letter to his coach about a range of issues, including Anderson’s insistence that athletes “drop your drawers” for a rectal exam, no matter the reason for a visit. No action was taken. The coach, Bill Johannesen, told investigators that he he couldn’t recall any complaints about Anderson. In 2018, 43 years later, DeLuca wrote to athletic director Warde Manuel about Anderson, a letter that led to a police investigation.
ADMINISTRATOR GETS ANGRY
Thomas Easthope, who supervised the University Health Service, heard complaints that Anderson was “fooling around with boys,” a reference to him taking advantage of gay students, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Easthope claimed he fired Anderson — “Bob, you’re outta here” — but Anderson merely stopped being health service director. By 1981, he had moved to the athletic department. Before he died in 2021, Easthope acknowledged that he didn’t tell local authorities about Anderson. “We live in a different time, and it’s not like that today,” he said.
DID BO KNOW?
Some football players said they told legendary coach Bo Schembechler about Anderson molesting them in the 1970s. Schembechler, who died in 2006, told one to “toughen up.” The disclosure has caused division in Schembechler’s family, with some saying he never would have flippantly dismissed complaints. A son, Matt Schembechler, said he was an Anderson victim and that he told his dad.
There have since been calls to remove Schembechler’s campus statue and take his name off a football building.
Athletic director Don Canham was informed about Anderson, too, but took no action, athletes said. Canham died in 2005.
The overall failure to intervene gave the doctor “countless occasions” to harass, abuse and assault patients during his 37-year career, the report said.
Anderson’s victims included pilots and others in the aviation field who needed physicals for employment. The Federal Aviation Administration had certified him as a medical examiner in southeastern Michigan.
“He continued to provide medical services to student athletes and other patients — and to engage in sexual misconduct with large numbers of them — for the rest of his career,” the report said.
This undated file photo provided by the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan shows Dr. Robert E. Anderson. The University of Michigan has agreed to a $490 million settlement with hundreds of people who say they were sexually assaulted by the former sports doctor at the school. Attorney Parker Stinar says Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, that 1,050 people will share in the settlement, which was reached the night before.
(Robert Kalmbach/Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan via AP)
___
Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez
___
Find AP’s full coverage of the University of Michigan sexual assault case at: https://apnews.com/hub/robert-anderson
By ED WHITE
Jon Vaughn, a former University of Michigan football player from 1988 to 1991 speaks during a news conference in Ann Arbor, Mich. on June 16, 2021. A financial payout for more than 1,000 people — mostly men — who say they were sexually assaulted by former University of Michigan sports doctor Robert Anderson is the latest multimillion settlement involving schools faced with sexual misconduct scandals. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya_File)
DETROIT (AP) — Complaints that a University of Michigan sports doctor was committing sexual assault went back decades, long before a $490 million settlement this week with victims, but no one stepped forward to ensure that Robert Anderson would be kicked off campus.
The many missed opportunities were described in detail last May when a law firm hired by the university released its findings about Anderson, who died in 2008 after working at U-M for nearly 40 years.
WilmerHale found at least 20 occasions when a student, athlete or other individual spoke with university staff about Anderson.
“There was an undercurrent of rumors, jokes, innuendo and expressions of concern about Dr. Anderson throughout his career at the university,” the report said. “University personnel failed to appreciate the significance of what they heard. We found no evidence that anyone inquired into his conduct or referred him for investigation.”
Yet WilmerHale also found critical events that could have made a difference, according to the report:
A WRESTLER COMPLAINS
In 1975, Tad DeLuca wrote a 10-page letter to his coach about a range of issues, including Anderson’s insistence that athletes “drop your drawers” for a rectal exam, no matter the reason for a visit. No action was taken. The coach, Bill Johannesen, told investigators that he he couldn’t recall any complaints about Anderson. In 2018, 43 years later, DeLuca wrote to athletic director Warde Manuel about Anderson, a letter that led to a police investigation.
ADMINISTRATOR GETS ANGRY
Thomas Easthope, who supervised the University Health Service, heard complaints that Anderson was “fooling around with boys,” a reference to him taking advantage of gay students, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Easthope claimed he fired Anderson — “Bob, you’re outta here” — but Anderson merely stopped being health service director. By 1981, he had moved to the athletic department. Before he died in 2021, Easthope acknowledged that he didn’t tell local authorities about Anderson. “We live in a different time, and it’s not like that today,” he said.
DID BO KNOW?
Some football players said they told legendary coach Bo Schembechler about Anderson molesting them in the 1970s. Schembechler, who died in 2006, told one to “toughen up.” The disclosure has caused division in Schembechler’s family, with some saying he never would have flippantly dismissed complaints. A son, Matt Schembechler, said he was an Anderson victim and that he told his dad.
There have since been calls to remove Schembechler’s campus statue and take his name off a football building.
Athletic director Don Canham was informed about Anderson, too, but took no action, athletes said. Canham died in 2005.
The overall failure to intervene gave the doctor “countless occasions” to harass, abuse and assault patients during his 37-year career, the report said.
Anderson’s victims included pilots and others in the aviation field who needed physicals for employment. The Federal Aviation Administration had certified him as a medical examiner in southeastern Michigan.
“He continued to provide medical services to student athletes and other patients — and to engage in sexual misconduct with large numbers of them — for the rest of his career,” the report said.
This undated file photo provided by the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan shows Dr. Robert E. Anderson. The University of Michigan has agreed to a $490 million settlement with hundreds of people who say they were sexually assaulted by the former sports doctor at the school. Attorney Parker Stinar says Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, that 1,050 people will share in the settlement, which was reached the night before.
(Robert Kalmbach/Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan via AP)
___
Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez
___
Find AP’s full coverage of the University of Michigan sexual assault case at: https://apnews.com/hub/robert-anderson
No comments:
Post a Comment