Former Michigan football players begin online petition defending Bo Schembechler’s legacy

Several former Michigan football players, coaches and staff members who played and worked for Bo Schembechler are coming to his defense after three men said last week the coach did nothing after they told him about sexual abuse they suffered from a former team doctor.

Former players Gilvanni Johnson and David Kwiatkowski, along with Schembechler's son, Matt, last week detailed sexual abuse they suffered as patients of Dr. Robert Anderson, the longtime physician and football team doctor. All three said in a news conference Thursday they told the iconic football coach what Anderson did, but Matt Schembechler (in 1969), Kwaitkowski (1977) and Johnson (1982) all said the coach did nothing.

 Now, another group of ex-players has started an online petition to defend Schembechler's legacy.

Bo Schembechler statue outside University of Michigan's Schembechler Hall in Ann Arbor. (Photo: Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press)

"Our experiences tell us that the Bo Schembechler we knew would never have tolerated any abuse or mistreatment of his players, his staff, or any other individual," the petition on Change.org reads. "We believe firmly, that if he were aware of such behavior, Coach Schembechler would have acted immediately to put a stop to it and would have made sure anyone responsible for it would have been removed from the University of Michigan football program.

"We want to be clear, as a group we are sympathetic to all victims of sexual abuse. Yearly physicals by family doctors, or athletic physicals by a university doctor were the same physicals as performed by the United States military. There was no reason to suspect abuse in those circumstances. If Coach Schembechler was aware of any criminal or sexual abuse, as we stated above, in our opinion, he would have been outraged and taken action immediately. It is reasonable to assume that Coach Schembechler, like many at the time, believed the physicals were not abusive but rather performed in accordance with standard medical practices."

Meanwhile, dozens of other former players and U-M students are expected to meet Wednesday outside Michigan Stadium to go public as survivors of Anderson's abuse and call for the Board of Regents to take action.

Jim Brandstatter, a former U-M offensive lineman under Schembechler and longtime voice of Wolverines football, said in radio interviews over the weekend that it's not fair to connect his former coach to Anderson.

"I got tremendous sympathy for those who suffered the misconduct of Dr. Anderson. Don’t get me wrong there, that conduct is inexcusable. But in my opinion to tie Bo to that is also wrong. Especially just on allegations," Brandstatter said, according to published reports. 

"Let’s face it, Bo is being convicted with no real documentable proof — just statements. My defense of Bo’s integrity and character should carry as much weight – I think anyway, there are others out there who don’t think so — but carry as much weight his accusers. In law, isn’t every accused afforded the right to a vigorous defense? Well, Bo is gone now, and he has no defense.”

Two weeks ago, Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh, who played at Michigan from 1982-86 when Anderson was working with the team, said he did not believe Schembechler would have stood by if he had known about Anderson's behavior. 

The Free Press has reached out to each member of the Board of Regents regarding the status of the statue of Schembechler outside Schembechler Hall on campus. None responded except chairwoman Denise Ilitch, who forwarded the statement released by the university during last week's news conference. It reads: 

"Our sympathy for all of Anderson’s victims is deep and unwavering, and we thank them for their bravery in coming forward. We condemn and apologize for the tragic misconduct of the late Dr. Robert Anderson, who left the University 17 years ago and died 13 years ago. We are committed to resolving their claims and to continuing the court-guided confidential mediation process."

Free Press staff writers John Wisely and David Jesse contributed to this report. 

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