Editor's Note: This story includes mention of sexual violence or assault.
Another former IU men’s basketball player came forward Tuesday with allegations of sexual abuse from former team physician Brad Bomba Sr. The former student-athlete, identified in a press release by the pseudonym John Doe, alleged the abuse was a part of a larger structural problem at IU and indicated intent to file a lawsuit against IU.
“I was subjected to horrifically invasive and completely unnecessary exams by team physician Brad Bomba Sr., propagated as a perverse rite of passage within the program’s toxic culture of hazing, dehumanization, and silence,” Doe said in the release.
Doe also alleged that team trainers and other staff were “keenly aware” of Bomba’s practices, at times joking about them or degrading players.
Doe wrote in the press release that he was inspired by another anonymous student athlete who came forward about Bomba’s alleged sexual abuse in a letter to IU from his legal counsel. IU announced in a Sept. 11 IU press release that they had retained an attorney to conduct an independent investigation into the accusations.
Earlier today, the IDS also received a press release and documents for a lawsuit filed on behalf of two other former players, Haris Mujezinovic and Charlie Miller. Mujezinovic was later identified by his legal counsel as the student represented in the initial letter to IU in September.
A representative from both law firms told the IDS the two investigations were not in conjunction, and said they only coincidentally released statements the same day.
Doe retained attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel, who also represented survivors in the Larry Nassar sexual abuse case. She has not yet filed a lawsuit against IU but indicated her intent in the press release.
“Michelle Simpson Tuegel intends to conduct a full investigation into Doe’s experience, Bomba’s alleged sexual misconduct, the wider culture around Indiana basketball and the University’s enabling of that culture and misconduct, with the intention to bring legal action against the institution on behalf of Doe and any other survivors,” the press release said.
