According to the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) reported on the 20th, lawyers at the University of Michigan confirmed wednesday that the university has agreed to pay $490 million in compensation to more than 1,000 former students, most of whom are men, who said they had been sexually assaulted by the university's sports doctor Robert Anderson.
Robert Anderson (screenshot of the report)
After 15 months of mediation, the statement appeared to have brought one of the biggest sexual assault scandals in the United States to an end. The scandal involved generations of victims since the 1960s.
Parker Stegna, an employee at the law firm, said: "This is a long and challenging process and I am confident that this settlement package will provide justice and healing for brave men and women who refuse to remain silent. Stina's law firm is serving dozens of victims.
Stina said about 1,050 Anderson victims will split $490 million in settlements, meaning each plaintiff will receive an average of about $438,000. In addition, $30 million of that money will be reserved for possible future accusers.
The report pointed out that Rick Fitzgerald, vice president for public affairs at the University of Michigan, confirmed the news of the settlement agreement. In addition, the school's president, Mary Sue Coleman, also said that the settlement agreement was the right thing to do.
Victims of speeches (screenshot of the report)
NBC said Anderson retired in 2003 and died five years later. He was a former director of the University Health Service and a top physician for the Michigan football team led by Coach Bo Simbakler and Lloyd Carr.
Simbakler's son Matt alleges that Anderson harassed him in 1969 when he was 10 years old, but his father refused to trust his report.
Plus, Anderson's abuse targeted more than just athletes. Music student Bill Herndon was also one of his victims. Herndon said he went to see Anderson in 1971 for a urinary tract infection but was threatened not to remove a needle from his arm unless he had sex with him.
The exposure to Anderson's crime was triggered by a former wrestler, Ted De Luca. In 1975, De Luca said, he wrote a nine-page letter to the coach and then-athletic director describing Anderson's repeated abuse of him under the pretext of a medical examination. Since then, De Luca has not given up on his efforts to expose Anderson.
Screenshot of the report
In 2018, Police in Washtno County, Michigan, launched an investigation into Anderson based on DeLuca's second letter. The investigation noted that Staff at the University of Michigan had "some knowledge of Rumors and Allegations of Misconduct" by Anderson.
In 2020, Schrisser, the former president of the University of Michigan, apologized on behalf of the school to all those who were hurt by Anderson. A year later, Weimerhale Law Firm was hired by the University of Michigan to conduct an independent investigation that concluded that University of Michigan officials knew Anderson was abusing students and that they could have stopped him but did not.
(Editor: WDQ)