Male survivors unite to expose sexual abuse at college football?s biggest rivals

Fans of famed rivals Ohio State University and the University of Michigan often boast of how little they have in common. But two of America's biggest college sports programs are bonded by one issue: a history of sexual abuse perpetuated by team doctors.

On Saturday OSU and Michigan battled in front of 110,000 fans on the football field - an occasion so momentous it's known simply as The Game. But elsewhere on the Michigan campus former athletes from both universities gathered in front of Michigan president Mark Schlissel's house to shine a light on the sexual abuse they endured during their time at the colleges. The protest was spearheaded by Jon Vaughn, a former running back for Michigan, who went on to play four years in the NFL. Now, despite the longstanding rivalry between the universities, the men have formed a survivor solidarity group.

"Toxic masculinity is an overused term, but I'm putting my name on this, because some other man is out there struggling with their own trauma and the stigma attached," said Tom Lisy, a wrestler at OSU in the late 1980s. He was abused by an OSU team doctor, Richard Strauss, and had driven from Cleveland to attend the protest. "If sexual assault can happen to the men on the field - these athletes - then it can happen to anyone. I'm out here raising awareness of that," said Lisy.

For seven weeks and despite increasingly frigid temperatures, Vaughn and a rotation of fellow survivors from in and out of state, have slept outside Schlissel's home, speaking to students and passersby about former Michigan team doctor Robert Anderson. Hundreds of former Michigan athletes have accused Anderson of abusing them between 1966 to 2003. The survivors of his abuse, who include prominent football and basketball players, allege Anderson fondled them and repeatedly performed unnecessary rectal and genital exams. The case sent shockwaves across the state and struck a chord with Michigan's neighbor and rival in Ohio. Anderson died in 2008 and never faced charges over the accusations.

At the same time Anderson was at Michigan, Strauss was conducting similar abuse at OSU. Strauss sexually assaulted hundreds of male athletes over the course of decades. Like Anderson, he did so under the guise of medical treatment. Strauss died by suicide in 2005. The Strauss case has been called the most sweeping sex abuse scandal in the history of American higher education. Despite that, this September a federal judge dismissed some of the biggest remaining lawsuits over the university's failure to stop the sexual abuse. The judge acknowledged it is indisputable that Strauss abused hundreds of young men but ultimately agreed with Ohio State's argument that the statute of limitations expired.

Both universities have issued apologies for the abuse and have taken steps to prevent such cases happening in the future, although they have been accused by some survivors of doing little to prevent it in the first place.

On the day of The Game, fraternity houses proudly displayed bedsheets spraypainted with unsubtle sentiments like "Fuck Ohio". Just blocks away Vaughn - with the support of current students and fellow survivors of Anderson, Strauss and Larry Nassar - has constructed what can only be described as an encampment.