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We Are No Different

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We Are No Different

The grave-walk for Bo Schembechler, who ignored and enabled the serial sexual assaulter that worked for him, went on as scheduled.

Ace Anbender
Nov 24, 2021
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We Are No Different

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SITE STUFF: We’re running a promotion for Ohio State week. Get 20.11% off either an annual or monthly subscription for the next 12 months, applied automatically when you sign up. No code needed!

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Discount percentage chosen at random, of course.

The free podcast went up on Monday night.

For those of you having problems with the podcast updating (I believe this is limited to Pocket Casts but please let me know if you’re having issues on another app), the address for the new RSS feed is: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/BLU2389811353. If you manually enter that address, you’ll have the updated pod.

I’ll have a subscriber-only podcast with The Athletic’s Ohio State reporter, Bill Landis, coming out tonight.


Content warning: this post addresses issues regarding serial sexual assault.

The same picture. [Photos: Yahoo and @MVictors]

I was going to write about basketball or more on The Game. Then the tweets began crossing my timeline.

Twitter avatar for @misuperfan
Michigan SuperFan @misuperfan
The walk to honor Ufer, Yost, and Schembechler is tomorrow at 6 at the Burton Tower….see you there!
9:48 PM ∙ Nov 22, 2021
76Likes15Retweets
Twitter avatar for @MVictors
MVictors @MVictors
Image
11:22 PM ∙ Nov 23, 2021
359Likes21Retweets

I don’t know why I expected the annual grave-walk to meet its deserved end this year. The idea that a depressingly large segment of Michigan fans would be any different than those at Penn State who still worship at the altar of Joe Paterno was naive fantasy.

When the names are removed, can you figure out which disgraced coach these quotes are about?

  1. “The claims are just that: They are claims. They're accusations,” said [REDACTED]. “They were never proven in court.”

  2. “Our experiences tell us that the [COACH] we knew would never have tolerated any abuse or mistreatment of his players, his staff, or any other individual.”

  3. “One of the players who made the charges against him, [REDACTED], was dismissed from the football team in 1980 because of drug related issues that he had within the team. He said – I don’t want to attack the accuser, there’s a fine line you walk when you do that.”

  4. "I definitely think that everything that has happened isn't at all indicative of the kind of man that he was."

  5. “There's nothing that ever was swept under the rug or ignored. He addressed everything in a timely fashion. That's the [COACH] that I knew.”

Not that it really matters, but: 1 and 4 regard Paterno; 2, 3, and 5 are about Schembechler. Number three was uttered by Jim Brandstatter, the radio voice of Michigan football. The last quote is from Jim Harbaugh. Neither person has apologized or walked back their statements.

The Bucket Problem
Michigan Is Still Failing Robert Anderson's Victims
CONTENT WARNING: This post discusses matters regarding sexual assault/abuse. When does the reckoning begin? The WilmerHale report, which contained over 200 pages detailing the University of Michigan’s many failures that enabled Robert Anderson to abuse “countless” patients over a peri…
Read more
2 years ago · 5 likes · 2 comments · Ace Anbender

Nothing has changed since I wrote the above in June. I’m sure the University’s silence has emboldened Schembechler loyalists to continue their idolatry.


Twitter avatar for @SamDodgeMLive
Sam Dodge @SamDodgeMLive
An anonymous local vandalized Bo Schembechler’s statue last night. Red paint and a “Bo knew” message, referring to Dr. Anderson’s sex abuse of players. Also, a hashtag of #hailtothevictims
Image
12:59 PM ∙ Nov 24, 2021
148Likes33Retweets

While the line of the callous placed flowers on Schembechler’s grave, one brave local defaced the statue that shouldn’t still be standing.

The act cuts to the core of Schembechler’s inaction and the devastating consequences. He knew — we have overwhelming corroborative evidence that says so — and when he refused to act, he contributed to the suffering of so many. There is very real blood on the hands of a person who ignores sexual assault.

1

I will once again post the words of Schembechler himself, from a book on leadership that, given the source, is no longer worth the paper it’s printed on:

By his own standard, Schembechler is a failed leader, and he knew what was going on.

Yet the survivors of the abuse Schembechler allowed to continue under his watch can see the likes of Steve Kornacki, who until last year was the athletic department’s in-house columnist, publicly defending and deifying him:

Twitter avatar for @KornackiR
Kornacki Wolverine (JBOS) Report @KornackiR
@CSayf23 Had the pleasure of spending some time with Bo as a kid with my dad and he was an unbelievably kind and generous person. Also completely hilarious. A truly great person and coach
8:59 PM ∙ Nov 17, 2021
Twitter avatar for @KornackiR
Kornacki Wolverine (JBOS) Report @KornackiR
@AceAnbender @CSayf23 It would be great if Bo were here to refute these accusations, but he isn’t. So people who knew him and cared about him have to stand up for his character. Glad to see you’re feeling better, Ace
2:43 PM ∙ Nov 18, 2021

Well, Steve

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, whether genuine or not, Schembechler’s charm had a purpose. He successfully built a cult of personality, leveraged it to make money as a self-styled leadership guru, and benefits from it to this day as wide-eyed suckers leap to his defense. He’s not the first and he’s far from the last.


Twitter avatar for @CSayf23
Clayton Sayfie @CSayf23
Today is the 15th anniversary of Bo Schembechler’s passing. Was sick from school that day and watched the coverage. As someone who wasn’t around while he was the coach, seeing and hearing what people had to say about him showed how great of an impact he had. 🐐
Image
2:21 PM ∙ Nov 17, 2021
218Likes15Retweets

As horrific sexual assault scandals emerged at Penn State, Michigan State, and Ohio State, Michigan partisans — whether fans, media members, or those working for the school — said this would never happen here, that U-M is different, and if anything of the sort were to come to light, the response would be completely different.

Then the Anderson scandal, evidently an open secret on campus for decades, finally emerged from rumor to report. Six months later, there are flowers on Schembechler’s grave, placed by people either pretending the last year didn’t happen or acknowledging that they don’t care.

They’d rather worship a myth than reckon with reality.

While that’s a relatable desire, this is a reality that can’t be ignored. Continuing to do so is an affront to the survivors of Anderson, so many of whom wouldn’t have been victimized if Schembechler had wielded his considerable power to stop the abuse.

If we can’t hold these so-called leaders accountable when they’re dead, how can we expect to stop the next Schembechler or Paterno and the abuser they’re protecting? Last night was a disheartening reminder that, collectively, we’ve learned nothing.

The Bucket Problem is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. The OSU week 20.11% discount will automatically be applied.

1

Sexual assault survivors are at elevated risk of depression, PTSD, and suicide. As a survivor myself, this certainly tracks with my personal experience.

2

I never said I was feeling better and, in fact, was not feeling well at all. Don’t ever say something like that to a chronically ill person.

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We Are No Different

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4 Comments
Pat Dolan
Nov 24, 2021

Thanks Ace. Keep fighting the good fight. Be well.

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NPiS
Nov 24, 2021

I tossed my Bo “The Team” shirt out last year and just replaced it with a Michigan vs Everybody shirt this year.

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