Several photos of a battered ex-girlfriend covered in bruises left by Baylor University’s former running back Devin Chafin were published on Tuesday, sent by Dolores Lozano, who claimed the hulking athlete slapped and kicked her, choked her until she was numb and slammed her against a wall and a vehicle in three violent incidents from April 2014. Baylor’s statement appears to have been released in response to the dismissal of RB Devin Chafin amid reports that he assaulted his girlfriend multiple times in the spring of 2014.
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The violence included being “slapped”, “kicked”, “forcibly and aggressively grabbed”, “slammed” against a wall, into a auto and to the ground, and “choked … until she lost feeling in her body”. She reported the incidents to Briles, Chafin’s mother and current assistant Jeff Lebby while deciding whether or not to press charges. She went to police in April 2014.
Lozano is planning a Title IX lawsuit against Baylor.
Chafin said Briles was never made aware of such climes and that Lozano’s account of the incident is inaccurate.
The Baylor Bears have lost a number of recruits and signees while firing head coach Art Briles in the midst of a serious sexual assault scandal surrounding the university. He told KWTX that Lozano was emotional and hitting her when he grabbed her and told Joe Schad on Tuesday that he wasn’t interviewed by police. Because of the complex nature of dating and domestic violence, even when complainants report abuse to the police, their school and others, complainants may be reluctant to move forward with a campus or criminal investigation.
Lebby is Briles’ son-in-law. “In developing informed and sensitive responses”, the university said in part, “we must be open to understanding the unique dynamics of dating and domestic violence, including individual barriers and safety considerations, and to supporting our students as they evaluate their options”.
Lozano accuses Chafin of assaulting her three times.
ESPN named Chafin in a May report for allegedly assaulting a woman.
“Baylor turned their backs to what was going on”, said Lozano’s attorney Ricky Patel, via Schad.
But in an email that KWTX obtained, dated August 7, 2015, more than a year after the alleged assault, Lozano asked Lebby for a job recommendation for the position of assistant director of athletic marketing at Baylor. “When something like this happens, it breaks your trust”.
Chafin said he spoke to Lebby about the incident and said Lebby told him he shouldn’t have laid his hands on Lozano, and punished him by giving him extra work with weights in workouts. He was suspended from the team after a marijuana arrest in March.
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Briles was removed from his role as football coach and Ken Starr was removed as the university’s president after reports indicated that the football program had cultivated a risky culture towards women.
