Baylor University Axes Football Coach For Mishandling Assault Complaints (WITH VIDEO)

Art Briles doing a promo shoot for a Waco Boys and Girls Club event (image courtesy Rockin' Rita's Flickr feed, available under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license)
Art Briles doing a promo shoot for a Waco Boys and Girls Club event (image courtesy Rockin’ Rita’s Flickr feed, available under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license)

On Thursday afternoon, Baylor University eliminated any doubt that tolerance for sweeping sexual assault under the rug is at an all-time low. Baylor announced that it had pushed out head football coach Art Briles amid overwhelming evidence that the football program completely mishandled complaints about sexual assault by its players.

The firing came just three months before Briles was due to begin his ninth season at Baylor. When he arrived at the Waco, Texas school in 2007, he inherited a program in a shambles. The Bears had not had a winning season since 1995, and had won a grand total of 12 games in Big 12 Conference play. In eight years, Briles went 65-37–including 50-15 over the past five years. During those five years, Baylor reeled off two conference titles and notched four of the school’s five 10-win seasons–including the first 11-win seasons in school history. He also coached Robert Griffin III to the 2011 Heisman Trophy.

But none of that was enough, nor should it even have begun to be enough, to overcome what was uncovered by a year-long independent investigation of how Baylor handled sexual assault. Watch CBS Sports’ Doug Gottlieb discuss Briles’ ouster here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzKdShTNqm4

The investigation was triggered in part by questions about Sam Ukwachu, who transferred from Boise State in 2013. Before he ever played a down for Baylor, he was arrested for sexually assaulting a women’s soccer player. He was convicted in August 2015 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, though he is currently appealing the conviction. Following the trial, conflicting reports surfaced about how much Baylor knew regarding Ukwachu’s past.

The probe was conducted by Philadelphia-based law firm Peppler Hamilton. The findings of fact, viewable here, faulted the university as a whole for a “fundamental failure” to implement the requirements of Title IX and the Violence Against Women Act. However, some of its most scathing findings involved the football team.

Among other things, it found that several football staffers–including a number of Briles’ assistants–“affirmatively chose” to keep accusations of sexual assault and domestic violence in-house. In many of those cases, coaches and support staff conducted their own investigations in an effort to discredit accusers. They also took “affirmative steps” to divert allegations of sexual assault away from the police and Baylor’s student conduct process.

The investigation revealed that under Briles, the football program operated an “ad hoc internal system of discipline” that ran counter to university regulations and created the perception that the football team played by its own rules. It also rapped the program hard for how it handled transfers both to and from Baylor. Briles’ staff frequently helped players who were kicked off the team for disciplinary reasons transfer elsewhere–potentially endangering students at other schools. Briles’ staff also didn’t conduct adequate due diligence of prospective transfers to Baylor, and on at least one occasion made an “affirmative decision” not to check a transfer’s background. All of this happened despite protests from other university officials.

This report likely gives further ammunition to Jasmin Hernandez, a former Baylor student who sued Baylor and several university officials, including Briles, alleging that Baylor was well aware that former player Tevin Elliott had a history of violence and covered it up. Elliott was convicted of raping Hernandez in 2014; he is serving 20 years in prison. In February, ESPN revealed that Baylor mishandled allegations that as many as six women had been victimized by Elliott.

Baylor’s board of regents issued an unreserved apology to “Baylor Nation” for what board chairman Richard Willis called a failure to provide “a supportive, responsive, and caring environment.” In addition to announcing Briles’ ouster–officially described as a suspension with intent to dismiss–university officials also announced that president and chancellor Ken Starr will be stripped of his presidency, though for now he will remain as chancellor. Several unnamed administrators and athletic officials have also been fired. Baylor was concerned enough about potential NCAA violations that it also reported the matter to both the NCAA and the Big 12.

This was the only acceptable response. Even if Briles wasn’t personally responsible, at best he was asleep at the switch while his assistants demonstrated utter disregard for student safety and university integrity. No amount of wins can make up for that.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.