Law firm finds that former Indiana basketball team physician didn't act 'in bad faith'

Indianapolis Star

01-05-2025

Indiana University hired Jones Day, an international law firm with experience in sensitive investigations, in September to investigate the allegations against Dr Brad Bomba Sr.
Dr. Brad Bomba Sr. was a team physician for the mens' basketball team for several decades.
Jones Day interviewed close to 100 people, reviewed more than 100,000 documents and 10,000 emails as part of its investigation.
BLOOMINGTON — An independent investigation found Thursday that former Indiana basketball team physician Brad Bomba Sr. did not act "in bad faith or with an improper purpose" while conducting examinations through his career, according to an 874-page investigation report Indiana University released.
The school hired Jones Day, a prominent international law firm with experience in sensitive investigations, in September after receiving a letter on behalf of a former student-athlete, later confirmed to be Haris Mujezinovic, accusing Bomba of performing inappropriate prostate exams during annual physicals. Mujezinovic along with Charlie Miller filed a federal class action lawsuit in October against the school related to Bomba's conduct.
The report concluded that Bomba conducted digital rectal examinations (DREs) as a routine part of his annual physical examinations (PPEs) of players throughout his tenure and those examinations were 'by virtually all accounts' conducted in a clinically appropriate manner.
Jones Day also found no evidence to suggest Bomba obtained any sexual gratification in performing the tests.
'The evidence did not lead us to conclude that Dr. Bomba acted in bad faith or with an improper purpose when performing DREs while conducting thorough and complete PPEs of a college-age student athletes,' the report states.
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DeLaney & DeLaney, the law firm representing the plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against Indiana University and Tim Garl, responded to the report stating, 'The Jones Day report confirms that IU officials knew that Dr. Bomba, Sr. was penetrating these young athletes' rectums and IU refused to stop it.'
An attorney representing Bomba provided USA Today Network with a statement from Bomba's son, Dr. Brad Bomba Jr.: "Our family has not had a chance to read the 874 pages of the Jones Day report in full but we understand its conclusion affirms what we have known our entire lives, which is that our father was a caring physician who treated his patients in a clinically appropriate manner, always placing their health as his top priority."
"Indiana University will continue to work toward ensuring the safety and well-being of all members of our community and will continue to take any and all allegations of misconduct seriously," the university said in the release of the report.
According to the 874-page report, Jones Day interviewed close to 100 people, including multiple student-athletes from each decade that Bomba served as team physician, and reviewed more than 100,000 documents spanning six decades, as well as 10,000 emails.
The law firm also retained three independent medical experts with a background in sports medicine and high-level athletics.
Jones Day cited the opinions of those experts to conclude that it was 'not clearly unreasonable' for Bomba to include DREs as part of the basketball team's annual physical exams.
Jones Day has worked on similarly prominent investigations in college athletics, either as representation or in providing independent review of facts, including cases at Michigan and Michigan State in recent years.
Jones Day investigation report into former Indiana basketball physician Dr. Brad Bomba Sr