ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WWJ) -- Around 100 people braved the rain Thursday afternoon as they gathered ahead of the University of Michigan Board of Regents meeting to demand the school take accountability for the actions of former sports doctor Robert Anderson.
The regents met in-person Thursday for the first public meeting since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and alleged victims of the disgraced doctor and others gathered to let their voices be heard in regards to the scandal.
Making the trip from his home in Dallas, former running back John Vaughn said the university is “actively involved in a cover-up.”
"If we are going to be the leaders and best, if we’re going to truly be victors, we need to eradicate this cancer that is pervasive in the University of Michigan," said Vaughn. "The only way we can do it is to speak the truth."
Vaughn and others were demanding to speak face-to-face with the board during Thursday’s meeting.
A spokesperson for those outside the rally Thursday said "not one regent came outside to speak to any of the former U-M students," though a small number of them were permitted inside to speak during public comment at the meeting.
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Vaughn was among the many who applauded former Wolverines wrestler Tad DeLuca, who spoke up all the way back in 1975, only to go ignored.
“They chose to absolutely do nothing about what I told them,” DeLuca said Thursday.
While the university commissioned a 240-page report that found more than Anderson abused more than 800 victims during his time at the university between 1966-2003, many victims still say the university still hasn’t taken responsibility.
“They’ve never, ever spoken of the university’s responsibility in these atrocities,” Vaughn said.
Former Wolverines tight end Chuck Christian, a member of the 1981 Rose Bowl team, says he is tired of “Michigan lies,” including those who denied former head football coach Bo Schembechler’s role in the alleged cover-up.
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“I know what Bo did -- he kept sweeping it under the rug, sweeping it under the rug, sweeping it under the rug,” Christian said. “And look at all of us here because he swept it under the rug, instead of dealing with it.”
“I hear too many Michigan lies,” he said. “What’s a Michigan lie? A Michigan lie sounds like this: ‘The Bo I knew would have fixed everything before dinner time. The Bo I knew never would have let this happen. The Bo I knew didn’t know about this. Those are Michigan lies and Michigan lies are still lies and cover-ups and enough is enough… an hail to the victims!”
Christian was the first football player to publicly say he was abused. He says it kept him from seeking medical help sooner for the late-stage prostate cancer he continues to battle today.
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