On May 26, saying they “were horrified by the extent of these acts of sexual violence on our campus”, Baylor regents reassigned Chancellor and President Ken Starr, fired head football coach Art Briles and put Athletic Director Ian McCaw on probation after sitting through a lengthy report of the law firm’s findings.
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Starr, in an interview during something called the Texas Tribune Festival Saturday, likely trumped that level of embarrassment in the eyes of many as the former president vociferously defended his former coach.
“A grave injustice was done to Art Briles”, Starr said of the coach’s firing, going on to say that he takes issue with media descriptions of Briles’ behavior.
Starr denied there was a larger issue for the university after two football players were found guilty of assaulting two students and another former player is indicted on a similar charge.
“Was Art Briles given a raw deal?”
An outside review determined that for years the school mishandled rape allegations and the football program operated as it if was above the rules.
Among other findings, the Pepper Hamilton attorneys found that Baylor conducted processes that were wholly inadequate to consistently provide a prompt and equitable response under Title IX; actions by university administrators directly discouraged some complainants from reporting or participating in student conduct processes; and found specific failings within both the football program and athletics department leadership.
He called for the release of further details from the university commissioned report on the assaults, which Baylor has resisted, saying his disagreement with the Board of Regents over releasing that information contributed to his departure from the school.
“Baylor is such a good place and it’s a very happy place”, Starr said. I have great confidence to this day in Coach Briles. By mid-August, he had stepped down from those roles.
Starr, who on Saturday admitted he’s “not privy to all the facts”, maintains the investigation’s conclusions don’t accurately reflect the goings-on within the administration regarding its handling of sexual assault cases. “That’s key”, Starr said.
But Starr – who said he is writing a book about his time at Baylor – rejected the notion that Baylor’s problems with sexual assault were widespread. I’m going to learn.
“It’s terrible, it’s tragic, it may be a crime, is it something that suggests it may be a cultural issue?”
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“My encouragement to students is-don’t go to these off-campus parties”.
