ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The son of legendary Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler and two former players came forward Thursday to talk about the sexual abuse of former university doctor Robert Anderson and Schembechler’s handling of the situation.
Read: Everything Bo Schembechler’s son, 2 former Michigan football players said about doctor abuse case
The University of Michigan has a statue of Schembechler and a building named after him. Local newspapers and radio stations claim they have received calls for the statue to come down, but most students Local 4 spoke with on campus didn’t know who he was.
Bo’s statue stood silent in the hot sun Friday. No one came to admire or protest it. The same goes for Schembechler Hall, despite his own son relaying his traumatic story Thursday.
“A deeply personal and painful story of abuse and betrayal, abuse by a trusted doctor and betrayal of my father and the university of Michigan, which he served,” Matt Schembechler said.
When you ask those who know of Bo Schembechler, you get different answers to how the university should handle his legacy.
There is a template for what could happened. When Joe Paterno was dismissed from Penn State in 2011, a point was made in the Philadelphia sports publication “Crossing Broad” by Kevin Kinkead, who told Local 4:
Penn State did end up taking Paterno’s statue down. The difference, Kinkead pointed out, is that Paterno was alive when the statue came down and Schembechler died 15 years ago.
The Michigan Sexual Assault Hotline offers anonymous assistance and support without judgement. It can be reached at 855-864-2374.