Starr, Baylor’s president since 2010, was stripped of his duties last week by the school’s Board of Regents.
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Ken Starr was removed as Baylor University president last week after an investigation found that the school failed to sufficiently investigate allegations of sexual assault against students, and football players in particular. Sexual assault has no place on our campus or in our society. “We need to put this frightful situation behind us”, Starr said. Starr told ESPN’s Outside the Lines that he was stepping down immediately “as a matter of conscience”.
“We need to heal Baylor”.
On Wednesday the U.S. Department of Education said that it had received a Title IX about the handling of sexual assaults from a 2001 Baylor graduate, according to ESPN.
Starr and Baylor officials did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
In an interview with ESPN Wednesday, Starr said he will remain as a law professor at the university. The report commissioned by the law firm Pepper Hamilton stated school leadership, including Briles and his staff, inappropriately handled allegations of sexual violence made by students, some against football players.
Students were quick to question Starr’s claim that he did not know about the problem, which has been an issue on campus for several years.
Starr a year ago recommended to the school’s regents that Baylor hire the law firm Pepper Hamilton to review the university’s record on the issue.
Starr said Briles “is a person of genuine character”.
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The same day Baylor released its report, the regents fired head coach Art Briles and sanctioned athletic director Ian McCaw, who resigned on Monday, the same day the school hired Jim Grobe to coach the 2016 season. Those are venues where those bad things have happened.. The football program, the university’s summary of the findings stated, operated its own “internal system of discipline”, that “resulted in conduct being ignored or players being dismissed from the team based on an informal and subjective process”. “This investigation revealed the University’s mishandling of reports in what should have been a supportive, responsive and caring environment for students”. In one case, the actions included retaliating against a complainant for reporting a sexual assault. But the board said at the time there was an agreement in principle that Starr could stay on as chancellor.
