A former NBA player and coach has claimed he was sexually abused by a team doctor at Indiana University – and that the school’s famed coach, Bobby Knight, took no action (to his knowledge) to address his complaints.
In October, former Indiana players Haris Mujezinovic and Charlie Miller filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Southern Indiana, accusing Dr. Bradford Bomba Sr. of sexual abuse – specifically, that he performed unnecessary rectal examinations on players. The suit, which accuses Indiana of failing to protect players from Bomba, was later joined by two more former Hoosiers players in John Flowers and Larry Richardson Jr.
Now, former Lakers, Pacers, Knicks and Sixers player Butch Carter is the fifth person to join the lawsuit, according to NBC News. He played for the school from 1976 to 1980 and is now 66 years old.
An amended complaint filed earlier this month includes the accusations against Bomba from Carter, who also coached the Raptors and served as an assistant with the Bucks.
The lawsuit claims that in 1979, Bomba ‘put on gloves, lubed his fingers’ and directed Carter to bend over a table before putting one or more of his finger’s in the player’s anus.
Carter claims that he complained to Knight but was met with resistance when he tried to bring up his concerns.
Butch Carter, the former coach of the Raptors, has accused an Indiana University doctor of sexual abuse
Legendary Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight is accused of taking no action after hearing Carter’s complaints
An anonymous accuser in the lawsuit – who is now known to be Carter, according to NBC – said that he approached Knight before a practice during his senior year and told him he did not want to see Bomba for medical care again.
Knight allegedly responded, ‘You’re going to take a physical,’ though Carter ultimately saw another doctor for a check-up and Knight then ‘left it alone.’
Carter also claims to have complained to team trainer Bob Young and George Taliaferro, who worked under the university’s president.
Taliaferro, who is no longer alive (the same of which is true of Knight and Young) allegedly acknowledged to Carter that Bomba was a ‘piece of s**.’
Notably, Carter has claimed that he only received one other rectal exam during a physical as a player: when he was in the NBA, and being checked for a swollen prostate.
The players are suing Indiana University under Title IX, which requires all federally-funded colleges and universities to protect students from sexual violence.
In a statement, Carter said he was ‘proud to come forward and I hope that other IU basketball players will come forward to share their experiences publicly.’
Bomba’s attorney did not comment to NBC, while Mark Bode, Indiana’s executive director for media relations, did not either.
However, Bode previously referred the site to a September statement from the school, which said that IU had retained an independent law firm to investigate claims of sexual abuse from a former player.
