A law firm hired by Indiana University concluded that rectal exams performed by former IU athletics physician Brad Bomba Sr. on players were uncommon but not inappropriate.
The report also said the way in which he conducted the exams was professional, “clinically appropriate” and limited to pre-participation physicals.
Bomba Sr.’s conduct as a doctor for the IU men’s basketball team is the focus of a lawsuit filed by five former players. They characterize the rectal exams as sexual assault under the guise of medical care. They accuse IU of knowing about invasive and unnecessary exams but not intervening.
Kathleen DeLaney, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement, "The Jones Day report confirms that IU officials knew that Dr. Bomba Sr. was penetrating these young athletes' rectums and IU refused to stop it."
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Bomba Sr. himself is not a defendant, but former trainer Tim Garl is named as a defendant.
The 874-page report, including supporting documents, was prepared by law firm Jones Day. The report found that “by virtually all accounts, (Bomba Sr.) conducted these examinations in a clinically appropriate manner.”
The report argues that at the time Bomba was trained, a rectal examination was an appropriate part of a comprehensive physical. However, one of the expert physicians quoted in the report said that without a relevant medical history, the rectal exams "were neither necessary nor appropriate medical care at any time during Dr. Bomba's tenure."
Read more: Two former IU basketball players accuse Brad Bomba Sr. of sexual misconduct
The report concludes that “professional minds can differ on the appropriateness of Dr. Bomba’s practices and that there is no clear uniformity around what the standard of care would have been during Dr. Bomba’s tenure. Given that lack of uniformity, our ultimate assessment is that it was not clearly unreasonable for Dr. Bomba to include a DRE (digital rectal exam) in the PPEs (pre-participation physical exam) he performed for the IU men’s basketball team.”
While the report is broadly in Bomba’s favor, it mentions some limitations to the investigation, including witnesses who declined to interview and a lack of available medical documents.
