Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit About Ex-IU Doctor’s Sex Abuse
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday against Indiana University and former head trainer Tim Garl.
Several former Indiana University basketball players brought the lawsuit, saying former team physician Dr. Bradford Bomba sexually abused them by giving them rectal exams during the 1980s and 90s. The players claimed the university, even former head coach Bob Knight, knew about Bomba’s behavior but did nothing to stop it.
The players’ attorneys had argued that their clients were within the state’s two-year statute of limitations for reporting the sexual abuse because they didn’t know until 2024 that Bomba’s actions constituted sexual abuse under Title IX. Title IX is the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in educational opportunities.
However, U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt of the Southern District of Indiana didn’t buy it. She said that because the players admitted the behavior was “widely known among university staff” decades ago, the two-year window to sue had long since closed.
Similar cases at schools like Ohio State and Michigan have moved forward, but Pratt said these rulings don’t apply in Indiana. Dr. Bomba, who refused to answer questions during a 2024 deposition, died last May.
