After being removed as President of Baylor University for the handling of multiple alleged sexual assaults involving the football program, the University’s Chancellor is stepping down from his new job.
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Starr will remain at Baylor as the Louise L. Morrison Chair of Constitutional Law professor at the Baylor University Law School.
“With sorrow, earlier this morning, I announced my resignation effective immediately as chancellor of Baylor University as a matter of conscience”, Starrtold the ESPN program “Outside the Lines”.
He said he’ll continue to teach at Baylor’s law school.
Starr had led Baylor as president since 2010 and had held the title of chancellor since 2013. Football coach Art Briles was suspended with the intent to be terminated on Friday. The school also didn’t provide sufficient support to victims who reported those assaults, the report said. She says it failed to properly investigate her allegation that football player Tevin Elliott raped her in 2012.
In a statement, Baylor later confirmed that it accepted Starr’s resignation and thanked him “for his years of service”.
The report said school administrators discouraged students from reporting or participating in student conduct reviews of sexual assault complaints, and that they even contributed to or accommodated a hostile environment against the alleged victims.
“As each day goes by that need becomes more and more pressing”, Starr said.
Also Wednesday, Baylor confirmed to USA TODAY Sports and others that running back Devin Chafin, cited in an ESPN report as being accused of two assaults of his ex-girlfriend, was dismissed from the Bears team at the end of the spring semester.
In one case, the actions of administrators constituted retaliation against a complainant for reporting sexual assault, the report said. He and Briles have faced sharp criticism about whether the school ignored allegations of assault by football players. “It’s not happening on campus, to the best of my knowledge”.
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“We’re an alcohol-free campus”, Starr said. “They’re off-campus parties. Those are the venues where these bad things have happened”. Secondly, he is either completely oblivious or monstrously unflinching when it comes to the plight of women on Baylor’s Waco campus. We were horrified by what we learned from the investigation and again express our public acknowledgment and deepest apologies, the regents said.
