The University of Michigan has reached a $490 million settlement with former athletes and other U-M students who sued the school saying they had been sexually …
The University of Michigan has reached a $490 million settlement with former athletes and other U-M students who sued the school saying they had been sexually assaulted by a former football team doctor. There are 1,050 former athletes and other U-M students suing the university in federal court. Many of the suits, including the first filed, were filed anonymously and claim the university failed to act when it knew the late Dr. Robert Anderson was sexually assaulting students. Anderson worked at U-M from 1968-2003 and died in 2008. The settlement will be split between those who have sued the school, and a portion of it will be set aside for future claims. The settlement is about $10 million less than the settlement reached between Michigan State University and the hundreds of survivors of Larry Nassar’s sexual assaults. Anderson’s sexual assaults were so well known among Michigan athletes, accusers have said, that he earned nicknames — „Dr. Drop Your Drawers“ and „Dr. Glove.“ Anderson was known to give unnecessary rectal and testicular exams to students. He also allegedly traded sexual favors for letters to send to Vietnam-era draft boards establishing men as homosexual and thus making them eligible for a draft deferment.
