A recounting by Chuck Christian, a former football player, sheds light on how alleged sexual abuse by a doctor during his teenage years prevented him from seeking medical assistance, despite experiencing blood in his semen 15 years ago.
Standing tall at 6-foot-4, Christian, who is now battling stage 4 cancer, was formerly associated with one of the most renowned college football programs in the US. He alleges that Dr. Robert Anderson, a former team doctor during his time as a Michigan Wolverine, sexually abused him by conducting purportedly unnecessary prostate examinations on him and other athletes.
According to Christian, he was assaulted by Dr. Anderson while he was a University of Michigan student-athlete in Anderson’s examination room.
15 years ago, when a doctor intended to perform a prostate examination after Christian found blood in his semen, he abruptly left the doctor’s office, fearing a recurrence of the abuse he endured during his teenage years.
“Nobody’s going to do that again,” he thought as he fled the urology clinic. “That’s why I didn’t go get the exam because of my fear of these digital exams that Dr. Anderson used to give me.”
Doctors informed him in 2016 that he had three years to live, but he has now surpassed the four-year mark. He chose alternative treatments over chemotherapy and radiation, he explained.
Today, at 60 years old, Christian, a married father of three, is battling stage 4 prostate cancer that has spread to his spine, tailbone, hips, ribs, and shoulders. He regrets not realizing sooner that his fear of doctors stemmed from the trauma he endured “from Anderson’s assault”. He speaks out in the hope that other former athletes do not repeat the mistake he made of delaying medical check-ups.
“I want to help all the student-athletes that have been through what I went through,” Christian told CNN. “Do not let any doctor or trainer do to you what they did to us, because it’s wrong and it’s illegal.”
A Washington, DC law firm, funded by the University of Michigan, is investigating Anderson, who passed away in 2008.
“Every person in our community should expect to feel safe and supported,” University President Mark Schlissel stated earlier this year. “The allegations that were reported are disturbing and very serious.”