Three former members of the Indiana men’s basketball team have accused former team doctor Bradford Bomba Sr., 88, of sexually abusing them during their playing days.
Haris Mujezinovic and Charlie Miller originally filed a lawsuit against Bomba in October, and John Flowers joined the suit this week.
Flowers, who played for the Hoosiers in 1981 and 1982, said he was subjected to at least two unnecessary prostate exams.
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A University of Indiana Hoosiers flag at Memorial Stadium. (Kirby Lee/Image of Sports/USA Today Sports)
Longtime trainer Tim Garl is now listed as a defendant, as Flowers said Garl was aware of Bomba’s “invasive, harassing and degrading digital rectal exams.”
“After his first physical, Flowers’ teammates told him he had ‘passed’ Dr. Bomba, Sr.’s ‘test’ and that he would not have to undergo a digital rectal exam again,” the lawsuit states, via CBS Sports. “Garl laughed at Flowers and his freshman teammates, making jokes at their expense about the digital rectal exams they endured.”
The university declined to comment officially, but sent a statement in September saying the school was conducting its own independent review of the case.
The players’ attorney, Kathleen Delaney, said Bomba may have sexually abused at least 100 male athletes during his time at the school. Neither Garl nor Bomba’s attorney responded to a request for comment.
Bomba pleaded the fifth during a deposition last month.
Mujezinovic and Miller, who played under coach Bobby Knight in the 1990s, also claimed Bomba performed prostate exams that were not necessary.
The IU logo on a basketball during a Hoosiers game against the Michigan State Spartans on Jan. 22, 2023, at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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“Dr. Bomba, Sr.’s routine sexual assault was openly discussed by Hoosier men’s basketball players in the locker room in the presence of IU staff, including assistant coaches, athletic trainers and other Hoosier men’s basketball personnel,” the lawsuit states. , via NBC News.
“I stand up for all student-athletes who have been abused,” Mujezinovic said in a statement. “I hope more of our former teammates will come forward and share their stories publicly.”
“I will never understand why IU leadership did nothing to protect us from what I now understand was sexual abuse,” Miller said.
The Indiana Hoosiers logo during the Empire Classic game Nov. 19, 2023 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Bomba was employed at the university from 1962 to 1970, and again from 1979 to the late 90s.
