“We need to put this awful experience behind us”, Starr told ESPN. “We need to be honest”. Starr did not respond immediately to a request for comment via email.
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Wednesday’s news from Baylor – assume this will be a almost daily occurrence – is that former school president Ken Starr is resigning from his role as chancellor. It released its findings last week, determining that under Starrs leadership, Baylor did little to respond to accusations of sexual assault involving football players over several years.
“With sorrow earlier this morning, I announced my resignation effective immediately as chancellor of Baylor University as a matter of conscience”, the former solicitor general said. But the board said at the time there was an agreement in principle that Starr could stay on as chancellor.
But the move still generated criticism from people who felt Starr shouldn’t be allowed to remain in a prominent role.
Prior to taking over as president at Baylor, Starr’s name was in the news over two decades ago.
Starr told ESPN he stands by Briles and said he disagreed that the football team was above the rules.
The investigation found actions by Baylor administrators directly discouraged students from reporting sexual assaults.
But another player, Tevin Elliott, was convicted of sexual assault in January 2014 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
“We’re an alcohol-free campus”, Starr said. They are off-campus parties. “It’s not happening on campus, to the best of my knowledge. This investigation revealed the University’s mishandling of reports in what should have been a supportive, responsive and caring environment for students”.
The resignation is another shoe to drop in the ongoing house cleaning among Baylor’s most visible administrators.
One week after being suspended with the intent to fire him, Baylor football coach Art Briles issued a statement saying that he has “made mistakes” but that he is “contractually obligated to remain silent” on the matters surrounding his dismissal. Since then, McCaw has also resigned.
“In some cases, 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”, it said.
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“We need to put this disgusting experience behind us”, Starr said in the ESPN interview.
