Former NBA Player and Coach Butch Carter Joins Lawsuit Accusing Ex-Team Doctor of Sexual Abuse

Carter is the fifth former Hoosiers basketball player to accuse former team physician Dr. Bradford Bomba Sr. of sexual abuse

Butch Carter of the Toronto Raptors during the game against the Charlotte Hornets on March 1, 1999 at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina
Butch Carter of the Toronto Raptors during the game against the Charlotte Hornets on March 1, 1999 at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo:

Sporting News via Getty

Butch Carter, who played and coached in the NBA, has joined an amended lawsuit accusing his former team doctor at Indiana University of sexual abuse and the school of failing to take action.

According to the filing obtained and reviewed by PEOPLE, Carter, 66, joins four other former players alleging they were sexually abused by Dr. Bradford Bomba Sr. when playing for the Hoosiers.

An initial suit with just two plaintiffs was filed in October, according to NBC.

Per the filing, Dr. Bomba Sr., now 88, "put on gloves, lubed up his fingers and told Carter to bend over the table" during a 1979 physical exam before the former doctor allegedly "inserted at least one of his fingers into Carter's anus."

Former players John Flowers, Haris Mujezinovic, Charlie Miller and Larry Richardson Jr. are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

The complaint claims that Carter "immediately complained" about the abuse "to multiple IU officials," and names former head coach Bob Knight, former team trainer Bob Young and an employee named George Taliaferro, who "worked in the Office of the IU President" as officials who were aware of the incident.

Former Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight, right, talks with Dr. Brad Bomba at a fund-raising dinner for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in Indianapolis on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009. Bomba was the team's physician for 25 years.
Dr. Bradford Bomba Sr. in 2009.

AP Photo/Tom Strickland

Taliaferro, now deceased, told Carter that Dr. Bomba Sr. was "a piece of s---" after Carter confided in him about the exam. Young, also now deceased, "did not seem surprised" when Carter told him of Bomba Sr.'s actions and said that the rectal portion "was part of a normal exam," according to the filing.

Additionally, the complaint claims that "none" of the officials aware of the abuse "took any action to address" the issues flagged about the physician. "Dr. Bomba Sr.'s abuse of men's basketball players continued for decades after Carter timely reported it," the complaint states.

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"I fought with Coach Knight multiple times about any players being near Dr. Bomba Sr," Carter alleges in the filing.

Hoosiers head athletic trainer Tim Garl, who still holds the position after taking over for Young in 1981, is named in the suit as a defendant. Flowers, who played for the Hoosiers from 1982 to 1983, claims Garl "assigned" him and other players to see Dr. Bomba Sr.

"After Flowers’ first digital rectal penetration, Garl laughed at Flowers and his freshmen teammates and made jokes at their expense regarding the digital rectal penetration they endured," the complaint states.

 Gus Williams #1 of the Washington Bullets dribbles past Butch Carter #7 of the New York Knicks during an NBA basketball game circa 1985 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Williams played for the Bullets from 1984-86.
Butch Carter plays defense against Gus Williams at an NBA game in 1985.

Focus on Sport/Getty

Richardson, a Hoosier in 1999, alleges that players were aware of the abuse and warned him to "get ready" before meeting with Dr. Bomba Sr. "After Richardson's physical, the same teammate said, 'he got [you], didn’t he? He put two big ole fingers up [his anus] and twist[ed] them around, didn’t he?' " the filing states.

Carter was drafted by the Lakers in 1980. He also played for the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks and served as a coach for the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks during his career.

PEOPLE has reached out to legal representatives for Bomba Sr. and a spokesperson for Indiana University.

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