The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Opinion
Wednesday, September 22, 2021 — 9

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New York State/American Program 

 
The Sackler School of Medicine-New York State/ American Program 
offers an outstanding four year medical school curriculum, taught in 
English, leading to the M.D. degree. The Program is chartered by the 
Regents of the University of the State of New York and is accredited by 
the State of Israel. 

I stumbled upon the article in bed 

in early 2020 on yet another sleepless 
night. As I absorbed the story about Dr. 
Robert Anderson and his sexual abuse of 
University of Michigan students, panic 
engulfed my stomach, and bile rose in my 
throat. Something was horribly wrong. 
I ran to the bathroom, vomited and lay 
down on the tiled floor.

A dark memory came into focus. One 

I had hidden from everyone, including 
myself, but that had interrupted my 
sleep for 25 years. I flashed back to the 
events in a cold examining room that 
shattered my world, my self-confidence 
… my everything. What took its place 
was twitching anxiety and unfathomable 
shame that would consume much of 
my life, leading me to question every 
relationship, decision and emotion I have 
had as a son, husband, father, co-worker, 
neighbor and friend. It also endangered 
my health: Since that day, I have never 
visited a doctor.
Y

es, I am a victim of Anderson 
along with hundreds, if not 
thousands, of other former U-M 

students. 

I have long been consumed by the why: 

Why did this happen to me? Why didn’t 
I say anything? Why did no one take the 
allegations seriously? Why didn’t the 
University protect me? Was I easy prey? 
Was I weak? Was I expendable?

I was a Michigan Man. A student-

athlete. As a Michigan Man you live 
by standards others dare to attain. We 
practiced, studied and played with every 
ounce of our ability. We pressed through 
pain because that was what the coaches 
demanded and what the fans wanted. You 
couldn’t have any chinks in the armor, 
and weakness was never an option.

And because I, along with the 

hundreds of other male student-athlete 

survivors of Anderson were “Michigan 
Men,” our experiences and traumas are 
largely unknown outside of Michigan 
and continue to be marginalized in a 
unique way. Because we were “Michigan 
Men,” the atrocities we encountered and 
traumas that continue to haunt us today 
are somehow lessened, swept under 
the rug in the shadow of our perceived 
strength and size. As if “Michigan Men” 
were built to endure the pain.

But I was a naive kid, only 18, which in 

retrospect was prime prey. 
I 

remember the moment I decided 
to no longer be Anderson’s victim. 
I had had enough. I ran from the 

examining room. My trust in authority 
was gone, as was my dream of being a 
U-M athlete. He had now stolen both. 

As a result, I quit the team that day 

to avoid Anderson and turned instead 
to Labatt Blue to camouflage my shame. 
Labatt turned into Jack Daniels, which 
turned into Nyquil. Thankfully, I stopped 
myself before it turned into something 
stronger. But by then, distancing myself 
from those closest to me had become my 
new norm.

The emotional vacuum I created 

eventually led me to jump from job-
to-job, 
industry-to-industry, 
friend-

to-friend. Instead of opening the door 
to 
relationships, 
I 
repeatedly, 
and 

purposefully, slammed the door shut just 
as I did the day I ran out of the examining 
room, vowing never to go back there and 
be hurt again.

But when I killed my association with 

the sport I loved, I killed my ability to 
truly love. I now realize how much I have 
missed in life by feeling so little and am 
working to communicate more freely 
with my family and friends. But I am 
also angrier than ever before about what 
happened to me and so many others. 

As student-athletes, we put our trust 

in the University and those around us to 
do the right thing on and off the field. We 
knew the University made money off our 

talents, filling stadiums with paying fans. 
It was a relationship we accepted. But 
maybe the relationship with the fans and 
the University is a facade, maybe athletes 
are worthless to the University if we aren’t 
winning. And most definitely, part of that 
relationship was being aware that our 
coaches would uncomfortably chuckle 
when appointments with Anderson were 
mentioned, as would other athletes who 
either had firsthand knowledge as I did 
or had heard through teammates that the 
rumors were, in fact, true. 
N

ow, 
experiencing 
how 
the 

“Leaders and Best” are ignoring, 
neglecting and overlooking our 

experiences as victims disgusts me.

The Michigan Machine that relied 

on us for revenue now views us as an 
uncomfortable chorus of complainers. 
The money we helped them make is 
now being used to hire law firms and 
investigators to minimize our existence. 
Staff, many of whom may still be working 
in the athletics department, likely knew 
more than they shared with investigators. 
Now, witnessing how the “Leaders and 
Best” are denying survivors transparency 
and attempting to avoid accountability 
for the decades upon decades of their 
institutional 
failures 
sickens 
me. 

Along with the acts of Anderson, the 
University’s lack of transparency should 
also sicken former and current athletes, 

students, staff, alumni and the public. 
T

o the largest alumni base in 
the world, to Michigan fans 
everywhere, to donors, corporate 

sponsors 
and 
prospective 
student-

athletes, I ask you to stand up as you do 
for us in Michigan athletic venues. Do 
what we did for you: rise up, persevere, 
press on. Tell University leaders we do 
not accept what happened, nor will we 
allow it to occur on any college campus, 
any institution or in any sliver of society 
again. Let’s uncover the uncomfortable 
truth about what really happened and 
change the conversation forever. Because 
that is what Michigan Men (people) do: 
We do what is right.

Op-ed: I am a Michigan Man, and this is 

my Dr. Anderson story

ANONYMOUS
Op-ed Contributor

Design by Jessica Chiu

