Latest news with #BradfordBombaSr.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Doctor accused of abusing Indiana University athletes dies at age 89
The longtime Indiana University doctor accused of sexually abusing basketball players has died, but the lawsuit accusing the school's trustees and a former athletic trainer of turning a blind eye to the alleged abuse lives on. Dr. Bradford Bomba Sr., who has been accused of performing unnecessary rectal examinations on several generations of Hoosiers players, died on May 8 while receiving hospice care in his hometown of Bloomington, Indiana, according to his obituary. He was 89. His death comes a week after a law firm hired by the university concluded that the doctor did not act 'in bad faith or with an improper purpose' when he performed the exams on hundreds of young players during routine physicals. But in the same report, medical experts brought on by the Jones Day law firm to help conduct the independent investigation wrote that 'it was uncommon' for physicians to perform invasive exams like this on 'college-age student athletes without pertinent history of complaints.' Kathleen DeLaney, who represents five former Indiana players in the federal lawsuit, said Bomba's death does not derail their case. Bomba is not named as a defendant. In December Bomba testified via video in a deposition ordered by the federal judge presiding over the lawsuit. During the deposition, Bomba invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination dozens of times, according to a transcript of his testimony. 'We will be able to use that testimony, so we do not believe that Dr. Bomba's death will impact our case,' Delaney wrote in an emailed response Tuesday to NBC News. 'IU does not challenge that Dr. Bomba systematically and over decades penetrated the rectums of young, healthy male elite athletes.' IU did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the death of Bomba, who provided medical care to all of its sports teams from 1962 to 1970 and was the men's basketball team physician from 1979 until the late 1990s. Born in Chicago, Bomba played football for Indiana University and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1957 but left the team after four preseason games to attend IU's school of medicine, his obituary states. Bomba was long retired when Haris Mujezinovic and Charlie Miller, who played for the Hoosiers in the 1990s under legendary coach Bob Knight, said in a lawsuit filed in October in U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana that the coaches and trainers were aware that Bomba was subjecting basketball players to unnecessary prostate examinations and did nothing to stop him. Knight, who was described as a 'close friend' in Bomba's obituary, died two years ago at age 83. The former Hoosiers players sued under Title IX, a federal law that requires all colleges and universities that receive federal funds to put safeguards in place to protect students from discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment and sexual violence. Since October, three other former players joined the class action lawsuit against the IU trustees and former athletic trainer Tim Garl. Both the IU trustees and Garl have filed motions seeking to dismiss the lawsuit against them, court records show. Garl, who had been the head men's basketball trainer at the school since 1981, was informed in April that IU would not be renewing his contract. The Jones Day report called Garl's behavior 'unprofessional' for 'razzing' players about the rectal exams at the hands of Bomba. This article was originally published on
NBC News
13-05-2025
- Health
- NBC News
Doctor accused of abusing Indiana University athletes is dead at age 89
The longtime Indiana University doctor accused of sexually abusing basketball players has died, but the lawsuit accusing the school's trustees and a former athletic trainer of turning a blind eye to the alleged abuse lives on. Dr. Bradford Bomba Sr., who has been accused of performing unnecessary rectal examinations on several generations of Hoosiers players, died on May 8 while receiving hospice care in his hometown of Bloomington, Indiana, according to his obituary. He was 89. His death comes a week after a law firm hired by the university concluded that the doctor did not act 'in bad faith or with an improper purpose' when he performed the exams on hundreds of young players during routine physicals. But in the same report, medical experts brought on by the Jones Day law firm to help conduct the independent investigation wrote that 'it was uncommon' for physicians to perform invasive exams like this on 'college-age student athletes without pertinent history of complaints.' Kathleen DeLaney, who represents five former Indiana players in the federal lawsuit, said Bomba's death does not derail their case. Bomba is not named as a defendant. In December Bomba testified via video in a deposition ordered by the federal judge presiding over the lawsuit. During the deposition, Bomba invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination dozens of times, according to a transcript of his testimony. 'We will be able to use that testimony, so we do not believe that Dr. Bomba's death will impact our case,' Delaney wrote in an emailed response Tuesday to NBC News. 'IU does not challenge that Dr. Bomba systematically and over decades penetrated the rectums of young, healthy male elite athletes.' IU did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the death of Bomba, who provided medical care to all of its sports teams from 1962 to 1970 and was the men's basketball team physician from 1979 until the late 1990s. Born in Chicago, Bradford played football for Indiana University and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1957 but left the team after four preseason games to attend IU's school of medicine, his obituary states. Bomba was long retired when Haris Mujezinovic and Charlie Miller, who played for the Hoosiers in the 1990s under legendary coach Bob Knight, said in a lawsuit filed in October in U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana that the coaches and trainers were aware that Bomba was subjecting basketball players to unnecessary prostate examinations and did nothing to stop him. Knight, who was described as a 'close friend' in Bomba's obituary, died two years ago at age 83. The former Hoosiers players sued under Title IX, a federal law that requires all colleges and universities that receive federal funds to put safeguards in place to protect students from discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment and sexual violence. Since October, three other former players joined the class action lawsuit against the IU trustees and former athletic trainer Tim Garl. Both the IU trustees and Garl have filed motions seeking to dismiss the lawsuit against them, court records show. Garl, who had been the head men's basketball trainer at the school since 1981, was informed in April that IU would not be renewing his contract. The Jones Day report called Garl's behavior 'unprofessional' for 'razzing' players about the rectal exams at the hands of Bomba.
Indianapolis Star
09-05-2025
- Health
- Indianapolis Star
Dr. Brad Bomba Sr., longtime Indiana Athletics physician and IU football player, died
BLOOMINGTON — Former Indiana basketball team physician Dr. Bradford Bomba Sr. has died at 89. A longtime family friend confirmed his death to The Herald-Times on Friday afternoon. Bomba entered hospice in recent months while battling various serious health conditions. Bomba had a private practice in the area for decades — in retirement he continued to treat patients at a free local clinic — while working as a contracted physician for Indiana University Athletics for much of that time. He served as team physician for all IU teams from 1963 to 1970 and the men's basketball team for nearly three decades. The IU grad earned All-Big Ten honors in football at the school and was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame (2007) and the IU Athletics Hall of Fame (2017). He is also a member of the Marion and Monroe County Halls of Fame. Bomba's grandson James, a former Bloomington South standout who is currently a member of the IU football team, posted about his grandfather's passing Friday afternoon on Facebook. "His presence felt larger than life," James Bomba wrote. "Filling every room with warmth and wisdom. Even though he is no longer physically with us, his spirit will live on in all the lives that he impacted. Rest in peace, Grandpa." His tenure as Indiana basketball's team physician has become the subject of a federal class action lawsuit filed against the school by former players including Haris Mujezinovic and Charlie Miller, alleging he performed 'medically unnecessary' prostate examinations during their annual physicals. The university hired Jones Day, a prominent international law firm, to conduct an independent investigation into Bomba's alleged conduct in September. In a 874-page report released May 1, the law firm concluded that Bomba didn't act in 'bad faith' or 'improper purpose.' 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 during the course of its investigation. According to the report, a 'significant majority' of former basketball players and staff expressed support for Bomba. 'Numerous callers, including physicians in the community and former student athletes, felt the allegations against him were a shame or travesty,' the report states. 'Many, including those who received DREs during their physicals, described Dr. Bomba in admirable terms and clearly hold him in high regard. They felt his care was professional, thorough, and appropriate.' Bomba is survived by his six children, Brad Jr. (Angee), Elizabeth, Joseph, Chris (Wendy), Matt (Kelly), Eric (Angie), and many grandchildren.
