A former Indiana University team physician accused by at least two former men’s basketball players of sexual assault is competent to face a deposition, a judge ruled Tuesday.
The lawsuit, filed in October by attorneys for Haris Mujezinovic and Charlie Miller, is against Dr. Brad Bomba Sr and the IU Board of Trustees.
Mujezinovic and Miller’s legal team subpoenaed Bomba Sr. for a deposition, citing his “rapidly declining health.” Bomba’s lawyers filed a motion asking a judge to block the subpoena, claiming Bomba is incompetent due to his age.
According to court filings, Bomba’s legal team claims “his capacity to recall is severely impaired, he is unable to distinguish between truth and fiction, and he is incapable of asserting his Fifth Amendment right.”
The judge ruled against, but said it was not “by a significant margin.”
Bomba Sr. is allowed to be called for deposition, but the court set several requirements in place:
- The deposition can only focus on questions relevant to the allegations in the lawsuit alone
- The deposition must take place at a reasonable location of Dr. Bomba, Sr.'s choosing, including his home, and/or remotely.
- The deposition must be less than five hours and include breaks.
Bomba, an IU athletics doctor for nearly three decades, whose work with the team ended in the late 1990s, is accused of inappropriately conducting prostate and rectal exams during annual team physicals.
"Mujezinovic and Miller, along with their former IU men’s basketball teammates, must unfortunately add their names to the list of athletes subjected to routine, systemic sexual assault and sex-based harassment under the guise of medical care," the lawsuit reads.
The two players also accuse the university of ignoring the allegations, writing, "Despite its knowledge of these routine, pervasive, repeated sexual assaults, IU systemically mishandled and turned a blind eye to Hoosier men’s basketball players’ complaints of Dr. Bomba, Sr.’s sexual misconduct, contrary to federal regulations."
Indiana University has hired Jones Day, an international law firm, to review the allegations. The firm worked alongside Michigan State University leading up to the dismissal of football coach Mel Tucker who was accused of sexual harassment.
Mujezinovic was a member of the men's team at IU for two seasons from 1995-97 and Miller played for four seasons starting in 1994.
