Opinion: The urgent lesson of the University of Michigan sexual abuse scandal

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'It is imperative that institutions and organizations through which adults and children interact have clear and effective systems in place for reporting, investigating, and addressing incidents of abuse,' Peggy Drexler writes for CNNOpinion

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Peggy Drexler is a research psychologist, documentary producer and the author of"Our Fathers, Ourselves: Daughters, Fathers, and the Changing American Family" and"Raising Boys Without Men." The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers. View more opinion on CNN.

Last week, Matt Schembechler, son of the celebrated University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler, came forward to detail experiences he said he had with former team doctor Robert Anderson. The younger Schembechler says he was 10 years old when Dr. Anderson molested him and conducted an invasive rectal exam during what was supposed to be a routine physical in 1969.

Matt Schembechler said that when he told his father -- who was in his first year as head coach -- Bo Schembechler responded by punching him in the chest. He said that he and his mother reported Anderson's behavior to athletic director Don Canham, who fired Anderson, but it is Matt Schembechler's understanding that his father had Anderson reinstated, CNN reported.Anderson, who worked at the University of Michigan for 37 years, went on to see student patients until he retired in 2003.

Penn State sexual abuse scandal in 60 seconds 01:00Indeed, several other survivors have come forward to say that Bo Schembechler and other school administrators either turned a blind eye or, in an even more damning allegation, used it as a way to keep players in line. According to Gilvanni Johnson, a former football player, the coaches would joke about the doctor and threaten a"Dr. Anderson exam if did not think we were working hard enough.

Paul Stewart: Survivor of child sex abuse in football reflects on review of English FA 04:25It's one reason, too, why the allegations were dismissed as"locker room talk" and why athletes who reported Anderson to Bo Schembechler were told to"toughen up," according to the university-commissioned report.

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