- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,171,092
- Reaction score
- 59
BLOOMINGTON — A federal judge issued an order Tuesday dismissing the class action lawsuit filed by a group of former Indiana basketball players against the university.
On the lawsuit’s Title IX and civil rights complaints, the judge ruled in favor of the school and former team trainer Tim Garl in their motion to dismiss on grounds the players’ claims were subject to a two-year statute of limitations that long-since passed. The other state law complaints in the lawsuit filed were dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.
The plaintiffs have a right to appeal the ruling to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals within 30 days.
Initial claim: 2 ex-Indiana basketball players sue school, say it 'turned a blind eye' to alleged abuse
Former IU players including Haris Mujezinovic, along with Charlie Miller, filed the lawsuit in Oct. 2024, alleging they were "routinely and repeatedly" subject to "medically unnecessary, invasive and sexually abusive rectal examinations" by basketball team physician Dr. Brad Bomba Sr.
Mujezinovic and Miller were joined in the lawsuit by fellow former Indiana players John Flowers and Larry Richardson Jr. in subsequent filings with the court. Garl, who was Bomba’s supervisor at the time of the alleged incidents, was added as a defendant in the case.
In her ruling, Judge Tanya Walton Pratt stated the plaintiffs, “Knew both the fact and the causes of their injuries, and they therefore had complete causes of action against the University under Title IX and against Garl under Section 1983, between 1981 and 2000.”
Investigation: Law firm finds that former Indiana basketball team physician didn't act 'in bad faith'
The court dismissed the Title IX complaints with prejudice, barring the plaintiffs from refiling them.
“Plaintiffs have already had two opportunities to amend their complaint,” the ruling stated. “Each time with the benefit of Defendants' dispositive motions briefing. And because Plaintiffs have affirmatively pleaded their federal claims out of court on statute-of-limitations grounds, the Court does not envision a possibility of successful amendment.”
Indiana hired Jones Day — an international law firm with experience in sensitive investigations — to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations once they were made public. The law firm issued an 874-page report that concluded Bomba did not act in "bad faith" or "improper purpose" in conducting digital rectal examinations (DREs) as a routine part of his annual physical examinations (PPEs).
According to the report, Bomba conducted those tests in a clinically appropriate manner and there was no element of sexual gratification, while the experts they interviewed agreed that including DREs as part of an annual exam was an “uncommon practice.”
“These respective conclusions show 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,” the report stated. “Given that lack of uniformity, our ultimate assessment is that it was not clearly unreasonable for Dr. Bomba to include a DRE in the PPEs he performed for the IU men’s basketball team.”
Bomba, who was not listed as a defendant in the case, died in May 2025.
Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar's Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Lawsuit by former Indiana basketball players dismissed by federal judge
Continue reading...
On the lawsuit’s Title IX and civil rights complaints, the judge ruled in favor of the school and former team trainer Tim Garl in their motion to dismiss on grounds the players’ claims were subject to a two-year statute of limitations that long-since passed. The other state law complaints in the lawsuit filed were dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.
The plaintiffs have a right to appeal the ruling to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals within 30 days.
Initial claim: 2 ex-Indiana basketball players sue school, say it 'turned a blind eye' to alleged abuse
Former IU players including Haris Mujezinovic, along with Charlie Miller, filed the lawsuit in Oct. 2024, alleging they were "routinely and repeatedly" subject to "medically unnecessary, invasive and sexually abusive rectal examinations" by basketball team physician Dr. Brad Bomba Sr.
Mujezinovic and Miller were joined in the lawsuit by fellow former Indiana players John Flowers and Larry Richardson Jr. in subsequent filings with the court. Garl, who was Bomba’s supervisor at the time of the alleged incidents, was added as a defendant in the case.
In her ruling, Judge Tanya Walton Pratt stated the plaintiffs, “Knew both the fact and the causes of their injuries, and they therefore had complete causes of action against the University under Title IX and against Garl under Section 1983, between 1981 and 2000.”
Investigation: Law firm finds that former Indiana basketball team physician didn't act 'in bad faith'
The court dismissed the Title IX complaints with prejudice, barring the plaintiffs from refiling them.
“Plaintiffs have already had two opportunities to amend their complaint,” the ruling stated. “Each time with the benefit of Defendants' dispositive motions briefing. And because Plaintiffs have affirmatively pleaded their federal claims out of court on statute-of-limitations grounds, the Court does not envision a possibility of successful amendment.”
Indiana hired Jones Day — an international law firm with experience in sensitive investigations — to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations once they were made public. The law firm issued an 874-page report that concluded Bomba did not act in "bad faith" or "improper purpose" in conducting digital rectal examinations (DREs) as a routine part of his annual physical examinations (PPEs).
According to the report, Bomba conducted those tests in a clinically appropriate manner and there was no element of sexual gratification, while the experts they interviewed agreed that including DREs as part of an annual exam was an “uncommon practice.”
“These respective conclusions show 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,” the report stated. “Given that lack of uniformity, our ultimate assessment is that it was not clearly unreasonable for Dr. Bomba to include a DRE in the PPEs he performed for the IU men’s basketball team.”
Bomba, who was not listed as a defendant in the case, died in May 2025.
Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar's Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Lawsuit by former Indiana basketball players dismissed by federal judge
Continue reading...
