Bo Schembechler Statue on Michigan Campus Vandalized With Message About Survivors

He has been accused of knowing about alleged sexual abuse by former team doctor Robert Anderson.

Bo Schembechler's son and former UM football players have previously alleged that the former Michigan coach was aware of allegations of sexual assault against team doctor Robert Anderson. 

On Tuesday night, a statue of Schembechler on the Michigan campus was covered in red-and-black paint with the message "Bo knew #hailtothevictims", according to The Detroit News.

Michigan workers removed the paint from the statue Wednesday morning. 

"The vandalism remains under investigation by our Division of Public Safety & Security," university spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald said of the situation.

According to the report, an email address including the phrase "boknew" took responsibility for the statue vandalism and stated that Schembechler "is long seen as an iconic Michigan coach, but he knew that Robert Anderson, the team's doctor in the 1970s and 1980s, was sexually assaulting countless players each year."

Earlier this year, Matt Schembechler said that he was molested by Anderson during a physical in the 1960s, when he was 10 years old. He said he informed his father of the abuse and alleged that the Michigan coach became "physically violent" with him and his mother, according to ESPN's Dan Murphy.

"That was the first time he closed-fist punched me," Schembechler said. "It knocked me all the way across the kitchen."

An investigation into Anderson's conduct was opened in 2018—10 years after the doctor's death—following a letter from a former Michigan wrestler alleging abuse. 

In 2020, law firm WilmerHale said that multiple university employees, including Schembechler, "failed to act when presented with credible complaints that Anderson was sexually abusing his patients.

According to the ESPN report, Matt Schembechler said Michigan athletic director Don Canham was "prepared to fire Anderson" until Bo Schembechler intervened.

"Bo went to bat for Anderson and got him back working again," Matt told ESPN. "He wasn't going to have anybody change his team."

Nearly 900 former patients of Anderson have alleged abuse by the doctor. 

Glenn Schembechler, Bo's other son, denies that his father was ever informed about abuse by Anderson.

"I can tell you unequivocally no one ever told Bo," he said in 2020. "Bo would have done something. ... Bo would have fired him."

Michigan's football team is set to face Ohio State on Saturday at noon ET.

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