A third former Indiana men’s basketball player has alleged that a team doctor sexually assaulted him in a lawsuit. John Flowers joins former players Haris Mujezinovic and Charlie Miller in a class-action lawsuit against Indiana University administrators.
In the lawsuit, Flowers said he was forced to undergo at least two unnecessary prostate exams by Dr. Bradford Bomba Sr. while he played for Indiana from 1981 to 1982. The federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the Southern District of Indiana.
The lawsuit also names longtime men’s basketball coach Tim Garl as a defendant. It alleges that Garl knew that Bomba was subjecting players to “invasive, harassing and humiliating digital rectal exams” when Garl sent players to Bomba.
“After his first medical exam, Flowers’ teammates told him that he had ‘passed’ Dr. Bomba, Sr.’s ‘test’ and would no longer have to undergo a digital rectal exam,” the lawsuit states . “Garl mocked Flowers and his freshman teammates and made jokes at their expense regarding the digital rectal exams they received.”
Flowers contributed to an initial lawsuit filed by Mujezinovic and Miller in October 2024. Mujezinovic played for the Hoosiers in the 1990s when legendary coach Bobby Knight was at the school.
“I am proud to stand up on behalf of my former teammates and other IU basketball players to demand justice for the sexual abuse we suffered as members of the Hoosiers,” Flowers said. said in a statement.
Kathleen Delaney, who is Flowers, Mujezinovic and Miller’s attorney, alleges that Bomba may have sexually assaulted at least 100 male athletes during his time at the school.
Indiana spokesman Mark Bode told NBC Sports that the school “does not comment on litigation.” The university said in September that it had hired a private law firm to conduct an “independent review” of the allegations.
Flowers, Mujezinovic and Miller are suing Garl and Indiana University administrators under Title IX.
Bomba provided medical care to the Indiana sports team from 1962 to 1970, and from 1979 until the late 1990s, according to the lawsuit. Bomba, 88, is not currently listed as a defendant in the trial.
In December 2024, Bomba invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination multiple times during a deposition regarding the alleged rectal exams of Hoosier athletes.
