ExS.F. safety Hicks alleges sex abuse by late Michigan doctor

Former 49ers safety Dwight Hicks, a member of the franchise’s first two Super Bowl teams, on Wednesday became the latest University of Michigan athlete to allege he was sexually abused by late team physician Dr. Robert Anderson.

Anderson, who died in 2008, allegedly abused hundreds of students, the majority young men, during physical exams. He worked at the school from 1968 to 2003.

Hicks, 64, who had two attorneys beside him at a news conference outside Detroit, said he wanted to provide a voice for other victims. He reportedly became emotional while addressing reporters.

“What happened to me in that room with Dr. Anderson, I have no words for,” Hicks said. “I felt that I had to suck it up. I’m going to be a Michigan man. Maybe this is part of it.”

Hicks was a fourtime Pro Bowl selection during an eightyear career that included seven seasons with the 49ers (19791985). Despite being just 25, he was the elder statesmen of the secondary on the 49ers’ first Super Bowl team in 1981 that included rookies Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright and Carlton Williamson. After football, Hicks enjoyed a successful acting career.

On Wednesday, Hicks said after leaving Michigan, he “suppressed some of the things that happened to me because I just thought it was part of the process.”

In 2018, campus police began an investigation after a former Michigan wrestler wrote athletic director Warde Manuel about Anderson allegedly abusing him in the 1970s. The investigation produced a 91page report that detailed multiple reports of sexual abuse by Anderson. The university began its own investigation in February and has acknowledged abuse occurred.

Parker Stinar, a lawyer who was present with Hicks on Wednesday, represents more than 100 clients with claims against Anderson. They are among a group seeking compensation in lawsuits against the university.

Hicks has a daughter and brother who also attended Michigan.

“Something needs to be done desperately,” Hicks said. “I still love the University of Michigan, and I hope the University of Michigan understands and acknowledges what happened to so many of us. And I would hope they would recognize the trauma that was bestowed on us. But there can always be a reconciliation.”