FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 16, 2021
CONTACT:
Autria Lindsay (202) 322-4401
SPOTLIGHT MICHIGAN JOINS WITH FORMER UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ATHLETES & STUDENTS IN CALLING FOR FULL INVESTIGATION INTO DR. ANDERSON RAPE CLAIMS
"The time is now, for all of you who have been abused here, to speak up for justice. We speak because every victim matters. I am not John Doe. I am Jon Vaughn."
ANN ARBOR - Today Spotlight Michigan applauds the courageous victims who came forward, some for the first time publicly, to share their heartbreaking experiences of rape and sexual assault at the hands of University of Michigan team physician Dr. Robert Anderson. Former UM football player Jon Vaughn, former UM wrestler Tad DeLuca, and former UM student Richard Goldman all bravely shared the heinous acts committed on them by Dr. Anderson and the subsequent refusal by team leaders to address the criminal acts. The men are calling on the University of Michigan Board of Regents to fully cooperate with an investigation into Dr. Robert Anderson's behavior by the Michigan Attorney General.
"What the University of Michigan did, didn't kill me, it was a hellish experience but I'm alive." - Jon Vaughn
"Don Canham as the Athletic Director had the power way back in the 60's he did nothing, the 70's he did nothing, he had those 3 years that I was up here as a broadcaster to do something and he did nothing." - Richard Goldman
"Michigan's culture of protecting sexual abuse has continued up until right now, today." - Tad DeLuca
In response, Spotlight Michigan Spokesperson Autria Lindsay issued the following statement:
"We heard, yet again today, specific and credible accounts of victims taking their shocking concerns not only to Head Coach Bo Schembechler but also to Athletic Director Don Canham, and yet the University of Michigan refuses to acknowledge their role in the repeated protection of this sexual predator. There were multiple times over the course of 37 years where Dr. Robert Anderson could have, and SHOULD have, been terminated. However; a rapist was allowed to stay employed and in the exam room at the University of Michigan during decades-worth of official complaints. The only way to provide these victims with justice is to implement protocols that will prevent the complicit coverup that perpetuated this abuse. "
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View the full press conference here or click the image above.
Spotlight Michigan is committed to exposing these crimes and providing a voice to the community of victims, families, friends, and University of Michigan alumni that demand accountability from the University for its failure to put students before predators. It is also imperative that protocols and procedures be updated and improved to ensure such systemic failures that allowed for both the abuse and the cover-up never happen again.
To learn more about Spotlight Michigan visit our website at www.spotlightmichigan.com
