The son of legendary University of Michigan (U-M) football coach Bo Schembechler and two former players came forward Thursday to talk about their sexual abuse by former university doctor Robert Anderson and Schembechler’s handling of the situation. They are among the hundreds of men who were sexually assaulted by the campus doctor in the 1970s and 1980s. Joining Matt Schembechler in the sexual abuse allegations are Daniel Kwiatkowski and Gilvanni Johnson.
Matt told ESPN he is coming forward now to try to let people know that “you can’t abuse people and get away with it no matter how many football games you won.”
The number of victims could exceed 800, according to court filings by the law firm WilmerHale, which investigated the claims. According to Matt Schembechler, he told his father of Anderson’s abuse, which first occurred when Matt was 10 years old, during a physical examination for a pee-wee football team.
The boy’s claims of abuse were not only ignored, his father allegedly “closed-fist punched,” reports CBS News. “It knocked me all the way across the kitchen,” Matt said.
“The fact that no one took meaningful action is particularly disturbing in light of the nature, scope, and duration of Dr. Anderson’s misconduct,” said a report by law firm WilmerHale, which was hired by U-M in 2020 to determine how prior complaints about Anderson had been handled.
Despite several complaints, Anderson continued to treat U-M athletes for more than 30 years. Nearly 900 of his former patients have retained legal counsel. Matt has also hired an attorney and is suing the school.
Both Anderson and Coach Schembechler have passed away.
In a statement to ESPN, Glenn Schembechler, Bo’s only biological son, said he was certain no one had every told his father about Anderson’s abuse.
“I can tell you unequivocally no one ever told Bo. He would have done something about it.”
