“I didn’t expect them to take action against Art Briles”, Jasmin Hernandez, who was raped by former Baylor linebacker Tevin Elliot and has filed a lawsuit against the university and Briles, told ESPN on Thursday.
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May 18: “Outside The Lines” reports that an examination of Waco police records over a five-year period found more allegations of violent incidents involving Baylor football players who were not charged, appeared to face little or no discipline from the team even though coaches and administrators knew about the allegations, and that some documents were shielded from public view.
We discuss this and more on the latest episode of The Football Four Podcast. “This investigation revealed the University’s mishandling of reports in what should have been a supportive, responsive and caring environment for students”, Richard Willis, chair of the Baylor Board of Regents, said Thursday.
“In some cases”, the Pepper report reads, “football coaches and staff had inappropriate involvement in disciplinary and criminal matters or engaged in improper conduct that reinforced an overall perception that football was above the rules, and that there was no culture of accountability for misconduct”.
Reading the statement issued by Baylor, which offers up some details on what Pepper Hamilton found, it becomes evident that all of this happened because it was determined that winning football games was much, much more important than the safety of the student body.
– In some cases, including reports of a sexual assault by multiple football players, athletic department and football officials knowingly did not report sexual violence to an administrator outside the department.
“I think that Baylor made the right decision in the firing and making changes”, said Baylor student Marcella Trevino.
“We were horrified by the extent of these acts of sexual violence on our campus”. But as the university has grown in the past 10 years, it is now finding that with increased power and visibility come increased vulnerability and scrutiny, and Baylor, at this point, has to decide whether it’s a small, sleepy school on the banks of the Brazos or if it still intends to be large, influential force of higher education in America. This led to the university beginning the process of cleaning house and getting rid of Briles, School President Ken Starr and placing Athletic Director Ian McCaw on probation.
In a statement Thursday, the university said actions by some administrators “directly discouraged” some potential victims from coming forward, and in one case retaliated against someone who did report a sexual assault.
One football player has been named several times in sexual assault and the school has taken no action against him.
The university didn’t create a Title IX office until November 2014, but asked senior administrators to passively help oversee the department without consideration to their professional profile.
In the mid-1970s, Starr clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.
As recently as February, more than 200 Baylor students, faculty, staff and alumni gathered outside Starr’s home in protest of his handling of sexual assault allegations, the Waco Tribune reported.
During Clinton’s presidency, he was independent counsel overseeing the Whitewater investigation.
Mr. Starr’s supporters seemed pleased that he would be staying on, although in a reduced role.
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The university’s statement said the review revealed “a fundamental failure”. He sent a group text message to players, which later was widely shared on Twitter, informing them he had been fired and thanking them for their loyalty. Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby says the new rule will be structured like one implemented by the Southeastern Conference. “We put these programs and these guys on pedestals”.
