Bo Schembechler’s Michigan Statue Vandalized over Robert Anderson’s Sexual Assaults

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A statue of former Michigan Wolverines head football coach Bo Schembechler was reportedly vandalized with a message showing solidarity for the victims of Dr. Robert Anderson’s alleged sexual assaults.

David Jesse of the Detroit Free Press reported the words “Bo knew #hailtothevictims” were written on the ground next to the statue, while the statue itself was splashed with red paint.

Someone also sent a message to the Detroit Free Press from an anonymous “Boknew” email address:

“The person responsible is an anonymous local resident who stated: ‘This action is done in solidarity with the Hail to the Victims campaign. Bo Schembechler is long seen as an iconic Michigan coach, but he knew that Robert Anderson, the team’s doctor in the 1970s and 1980s, was sexually assaulting countless players each year. When Bo’s son confronted him about his own assault, Bo punched him and told him to keep quiet. Bo pulled strings and bent over backwards to ensure that Anderson could keep his job. It is time for the world to know that Bo is responsible for the abuse of innumerable Michigan football players.”

Jesse noted hundreds of people, many of whom are former athletes for the Wolverines, have sued Michigan and said Anderson sexually assaulted them as a doctor.

In May, law firm WilmerHale released a 240-page report detailing what the school knew about the assaults.

Part of the report noted several players told Schembechler about the abuse, but he responded by telling them to “toughen up.”

The former coach’s adopted son, Matt Schembechler, told ESPN’s Dan Murphy in June that he informed his father that Anderson had sexually assaulted him when he was 10 years old. Schembechler allegedly hit his son with a closed-fist punch and “went out of his way to make sure Anderson kept his role with the team.”

Schembechler coached at Michigan from 1969 to 1989.