The 88-year-old doctor accused of sexually assaulting Indiana University basketball players in the 1990s will be deposed Wednesday after a judge ruled he was competent to be questioned about the allegations.
Dr. Bradford Bomba Sr. “was able to accurately identify the difference between the truth and a lie,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Mario Garcia wrote in a ruling Tuesday after Bomba was questioned at the federal courthouse in Indianapolis.
Bomba’s guardian, Joseph Bomba, had asked for the deposition to be delayed, arguing that Bomba, the former Indiana University team doctor, “does not know the difference between a truth and a lie, making him incompetent to testify,” according to court papers dated Friday.
The judge disagreed.
“In making this determination, the Court considers Dr. Bomba’s recollection of his education and understanding of basic concepts, his comfort and confidence during the hearing, noting that he did not exhibit any anxiety or distress,” Garcia wrote. “The Court also considers Dr. Bomba’s awareness of the general nature of the proceedings and the identification and role of his attorneys in these proceedings and that he would follow their advice.”
Two months ago, Haris Mujezinovic and Charlie Miller, who played for the Hoosiers in the 1990s under legendary coach Bob Knight, sued in U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana. They alleged that their coaches and trainers were aware that Bomba was subjecting basketball players to unnecessary prostate examinations and did nothing to stop him.
Kathleen Delaney, who represents Mujezinovic and Miller, said in the lawsuit that there could be “at least one hundred” alleged victims.
The lawsuit named the university’s trustees as defendants and alleged Title IX violations by the school for failing to protect the students. Under that federal law, universities that receive federal funding are required to have safety measures to protect students from predators.
Neither Knight, who died last year at age 83, nor Bomba was listed as a defendant.
Delaney declined to comment Tuesday on the latest legal development but confirmed that all of the lawyers involved agreed to conduct the deposition at the offices of William J. Beggs, the Bloomington, Indiana, lawyer who is representing Bomba.
Beggs did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Indiana University is represented by the Indianapolis-based Barnes & Thornburg law firm, university spokesperson Mark Bode wrote in an email.
The university hired Bomba to provide medical care to all its sports teams from 1962 to 1970, and from 1979 until the late 1990s he was the basketball team’s doctor, according to the lawsuit.
Mujezinovic and Miller said in their lawsuit that they “were routinely and repeatedly subjected to medically unnecessary, invasive, and abusive digital rectal examinations” by Bomba.
Bomba had played football for Indiana University and was nicknamed “Frankenstein” by coaches and players “due to the large size of his hands and fingers,” the lawsuit added.
“Dr. Bomba, Sr.’s routine sexual assaults were openly discussed by the Hoosier men’s basketball players in the locker room in the presence of IU employees, including assistant coaches, athletic trainers, and other Hoosier men’s basketball staff,” according to the lawsuit.
Mujezinovic, who spent two seasons at Indiana from 1995 to 1997, and Miller, who played for the Hoosiers from 1994 through 1998, seek unspecified damages. They have also urged former teammates to come forward and join their lawsuit.
The accusations that the university turned a blind eye to allegations that a team doctor was sexually abusing players echo a scandal involving a team doctor at a rival school. In 2018, former Ohio State University wrestlers alleged that their coaches knew Dr. Richard Strauss, who died in 2005, was preying on them but failed to act.
