Bo Schembelcher and Michigan might have a Joe Pa like stain to their legacy

[81usaf92]

Bo say it ain’t so


“
Two former Michigan football players said Thursday they believe they could have been spared from sexual assaults if their coach, Bo Schembechler, had addressed complaints about former team doctor Robert Anderson made by Schembechler's son Matt.

Both players said they also tried to warn Bo Schembechler about Anderson's abusive treatment and were ignored.

Dan Kwiatkowski and Gilvanni Johnson joined Matt Schembechler on Thursday at a news conference in Michigan to share their stories. Kwiatkowski played offensive tackle for the Wolverines in the late 1970s; Johnson played wide receiver in the early 1980s.

Both men said they previously talked to investigators about being molested by Anderson while they were on the football team, but publicly revealed their identities for the first time earlier this week.

"If [Bo Schembechler] had stopped Anderson before 1982, I would not have been victimized at all," Johnson said.”

 

[crimsonaudio]

Man, I don't get these coaches allowing doctors, etc to act like this. It's just mind-boggling - it's not like these guys are the key pieces to building a winning program.

 

[81usaf92]

Man, I don't get these coaches allowing doctors, etc to act like this. It's just mind-boggling - it's not like these guys are the key pieces to building a winning program.

But what’s weird is this is yet another great coach that everyone thought high morals and class that just stood by while this happened. It really makes you wonder 1) if back then this wasn’t seen as a serious issue by that generation ( Bo is only 3 years younger than Joe) 2) what other great coaches of that generation stood by and let it happened and 3) is this going to start a movement of people revealing themselves now that many of these coaches no longer have the power to silence them anymore.

But if a man let this happen to his own son and did not do anything about it, then it shows how much of a man he really was.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Doesn't sound like there's any 'might' about it - his own son? What a freaking dirtbag.

Beginning in 2018, hundreds of former student athletes who played at the University of Michigan have come forward with allegations of inappropriate and unwanted medical treatment by university doctor Robert Anderson. Anderson was employed at the university from 1966 to 2003, and died in 2008. After many lawsuits, an independent investigation was conducted by WilmerHale, LLP. In a 240-page report, the report stated that multiple players had gone to Schembechler after being sexually assaulted, and Schembechler did not properly report these allegations. The report stated that over 600 former student athletes at the University of Michigan experienced these assaults.

By some accounts by former players, Schembechler told student athletes to "toughen up" when they came to him after Anderson sexually assaulted them during normal doctor's visits.

In June 2021, Schembechler's son Matthew came forward, saying he was molested at age 10 by Anderson during a routine physical in the 1960s, and that Schembechler went to "great lengths" to ensure Anderson kept his job. Upon telling his father what happened, Matthew said "that was the first time he closed-fist punched me. It knocked me all the way across the kitchen."

 

[81usaf92]

Doesn't sound like there's any 'might' about it - his own son? What a freaking dirtbag.

Beginning in 2018, hundreds of former student athletes who played at the University of Michigan have come forward with allegations of inappropriate and unwanted medical treatment by university doctor Robert Anderson. Anderson was employed at the university from 1966 to 2003, and died in 2008. After many lawsuits, an independent investigation was conducted by WilmerHale, LLP. In a 240-page report, the report stated that multiple players had gone to Schembechler after being sexually assaulted, and Schembechler did not properly report these allegations. The report stated that over 600 former student athletes at the University of Michigan experienced these assaults.

By some accounts by former players, Schembechler told student athletes to "toughen up" when they came to him after Anderson sexually assaulted them during normal doctor's visits.

In June 2021, Schembechler's son Matthew came forward, saying he was molested at age 10 by Anderson during a routine physical in the 1960s, and that Schembechler went to "great lengths" to ensure Anderson kept his job. Upon telling his father what happened, Matthew said "that was the first time he closed-fist punched me. It knocked me all the way across the kitchen."

It’s why I have concerns about other coaches of that time period because Joe Pa displayed similar reactions to people telling him about Sandusky. I think he said something to the effect that “ It was my understanding that Sandusky was being a little too rough with a kid”. I don’t know... this was another shocking revelation.

 

[81usaf92]

Doesn’t look good for Harbaugh

Former Teammate paints a different picture

 

[TideEngineer08]

Yeah, there is no "might."

Bo can (and probably already is) rot in Hell. I too fear this was something that generation simply did not respond to. Instead of confront it, they wanted to bury it. For the life of me I cannot imagine siding with a molester over my own child. CANNOT.

Another fear is this seems to be isolated to Big Ten territory. But we all know that's not how this works.

 

[RollTide_HTTR]

Doesn't sound like there's any 'might' about it - his own son? What a freaking dirtbag.

Beginning in 2018, hundreds of former student athletes who played at the University of Michigan have come forward with allegations of inappropriate and unwanted medical treatment by university doctor Robert Anderson. Anderson was employed at the university from 1966 to 2003, and died in 2008. After many lawsuits, an independent investigation was conducted by WilmerHale, LLP. In a 240-page report, the report stated that multiple players had gone to Schembechler after being sexually assaulted, and Schembechler did not properly report these allegations. The report stated that over 600 former student athletes at the University of Michigan experienced these assaults.

By some accounts by former players, Schembechler told student athletes to "toughen up" when they came to him after Anderson sexually assaulted them during normal doctor's visits.

In June 2021, Schembechler's son Matthew came forward, saying he was molested at age 10 by Anderson during a routine physical in the 1960s, and that Schembechler went to "great lengths" to ensure Anderson kept his job. Upon telling his father what happened, Matthew said "that was the first time he closed-fist punched me. It knocked me all the way across the kitchen."

This makes me sick. I can't even process how awful this is.

 

[CB4]

So Michigan State and Nassar and now University of Michigan and Anderson? The two flagship universities in the state and both had molesters on staff of the Athletic Departments as team physicians. The people of Michigan need to ask how the hell does this happen? By all appearances now you had literally thousands of athletes rolling through your programs that were exposed to these sick, twisted animals posing as your team physicians.

I'm sickened.

 

[BamaInCummingGA]

So much for the mythical integrity of the Big Whatever.

 

[81usaf92]

So Bo’s wife was a nurse and went behind his back to get the AD to fire Anderson after Bo refused to after his son told of them of the assault. But afterwards Bo went to great lengths to have him reinstated. Good lord this is horrible

 

[TideEngineer08]

So Bo’s wife was a nurse and went behind his back to get the AD to fire Anderson after Bo refused to after his son told of them of the assault. But afterwards Bo went to great lengths to have him reinstated. Good lord this is horrible

God bless his wife then. And back then, that's probably as far as she could have went.

I don't get it. I just don't get it.

 

[Blueguitar]

So Michigan State and Nassar and now University of Michigan and Anderson? The two flagship universities in the state and both had molesters on staff of the Athletic Departments as team physicians. The people of Michigan need to ask how the hell does this happen? By all appearances now you had literally thousands of athletes rolling through your programs that were exposed to these sick, twisted animals posing as your team physicians.

I'm sickened.

It is weird that all of these horrible allegations are coming out about Big 10 schools in particular (UM, MSU, OSU, Penn State, Nebraska -- am I missing any?). I'm not sure how to interpret that. If this kind of thing was tolerated by the institutional cultures there it is hard to believe that it didn't also go on in other parts of the country. (So. Cal is the only non-Big 10 school I have heard about with such problems). Maybe the Big 10 has just been under more of a microscope? Or maybe there was something about the "nice guy" mindset of the midwest that made it easier for predators to get away with things? Neither of those theories sounds right to me, but I'm not sure what else to think.

 

[TideEngineer08]

It is weird that all of these horrible allegations are coming out about Big 10 schools in particular (UM, MSU, OSU, Penn State, Nebraska -- am I missing any?). I'm not sure how to interpret that. If this kind of thing was tolerated by the institutional cultures there it is hard to believe that it didn't also go on in other parts of the country. (So. Cal is the only non-Big 10 school I have heard about with such problems). Maybe the Big 10 has just been under more of a microscope? Or maybe there was something about the "nice guy" mindset of the midwest that made it easier for predators to get away with things? Neither of those theories sounds right to me, but I'm not sure what else to think.

There is something to it but I do not think whatever "it" is means that the rest of the country was immune. Witness Baylor's atrocities a few years ago, and the current calamity playing out at LSU which is not really getting the coverage it deserves.

 

[B1GTide]

There is something to it but I do not think whatever "it" is means that the rest of the country was immune. Witness Baylor's atrocities a few years ago, and the current calamity playing out at LSU which is not really getting the coverage it deserves.

It is stunning to me to see this exposed at so many schools in the B1G, including my beloved alma mater. I know it is happening everywhere - sexual deviants are everywhere - but the B1G has some serious problems to fix. This is a lot more important than football.

 

[lowend]

The son's quote about it being the FIRST time Bo punched him jumped out to me. How many more times did it happen?

 

[81usaf92]

It is stunning to me to see this exposed at so many schools in the B1G, including my beloved alma mater. I know it is happening everywhere - sexual deviants are everywhere - but the B1G has some serious problems to fix. This is a lot more important than football.

I just wonder if Michigan fans go all crazy like the Penn St fans did over this.

 

[Bamaatthebeach]

I found the report and read portions of it. How something so atrocious could be allowed to continue is mind blowing to me. It was widely known for years. One would have to conclude that the man felt he had allies in high places, or there is no way he would have been so brazen.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

I found the report and read portions of it. How something so atrocious could be allowed to continue is mind blowing to me. It was widely known for years. One would have to conclude that the man felt he had allies in high places, or there is no way he would have been so brazen.

I agree. But I’m deadly curious as to WHY Schembechler did nothing.

Even in the culture of the day, the standard move would have been a quiet re-assignment.

What benefit did Schembechler get from turning a blind eye? I can’t imagine.

 

[Blueguitar]

There is something to it but I do not think whatever "it" is means that the rest of the country was immune. Witness Baylor's atrocities a few years ago, and the current calamity playing out at LSU which is not really getting the coverage it deserves.

That's a good point, though what happened at Baylor and LSU to me seems to be in a different category. There it was coaches and athletic departments turning a blind eye to player criminality, or at least trying to keep it quiet. These Big 10 scandals involve people in senior positions of authority getting away with terrible crimes for decades. Both are awful, but letting coaches and doctors get away with it is an order of magnitude worse, IMO.