UM, Dr. Anderson Survivors Reach $490M Settlement: Report

Ann Arbor, MI — The University of Michigan reached a $490 million dollar settlement with former athletes and other University of Michigan students who claim they were sexually abused by longtime football team doctor Robert Anderson, according to a report from The Detroit News.

More than a 1,000 former athletes and other University of Michigan students have accused Dr. Anderson of sexually assaulting them while he was the head of the University Health Service and the team physician for the UM Athletic Department from 1968 to 2003. Anderson died in 2008.

A 2021 report commissioned and paid for by the University of Michigan concluded that Anderson abused mostly men on multiple occasions that included unnecessary hernia and rectal examinations on patients.

The report also said several top officials, including legendary football coach Bo Schembechler, were alerted about the ongoing sexual abuse, but the university never terminated Anderson employment or removed him from his position.