Art Briles Broke Promise To Apologize To A Sexual Assault Victim (WITH VIDEO)


In case you missed it, last month Baylor fired head football coach Art Briles in the face of overwhelming evidence that his program mishandled allegations of rape and sexual assault by his players. Well, if that wasn’t enough to spell finis to Briles’ coaching career, the attorney for a sexual assault victim probably ended it on Monday. That lawyer revealed that Briles had promised to apologize to his client–but never showed up to make the apology.

Back in March, Jasmin Hernandez filed a Title IX lawsuit against Baylor, Briles, and then-athletic director Ian McCaw. She had been raped by former Baylor football player Tevin Elliott in 2012; Elliott is currently serving 20 years in prison. Hernandez contended that Briles and Baylor were well aware of Elliott’s violent past and covered it up. Watch Hernandez announce the suit with her attorney, Alex Zalkin, here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK76GH_Sbok

Hernandez contends that she was forced to withdraw from Baylor in 2013 because of inadequate counseling and academic support from school officials. This is important; Title IX was written in part to ensure that a sexual assault victim is able to continue her education.

Soon after Briles’ firing, Baylor, Briles, and Hernandez began talks to settle Hernandez’ suit. It’s not as if Baylor had any choice. The findings of fact from an independent investigation into Baylor’s handling of sexual assault destroyed most of Baylor’s capital. Among other things, they revealed that Briles’ staff deliberately swept sexual assault allegations under the rug, even going as far as to discredit accusers. It also revealed that Briles’ staff didn’t adequately vet transfers.

Last Thursday, Briles’ personal lawyer, Ernest Cannon, called Hernandez’ local lawyer and promised that his client would personally apologize to Hernandez at a mediation session the following day in Dallas. Zalkin told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” that Briles specifically promised “to support Jasmin … and help her, and to apologize to her and her family.”

On Friday morning, Briles and Baylor reached a settlement for the remainder of Briles’ contract. His tenure in Waco had effectively ended on May 26 when Baylor suspended him with intent to dismiss, but this settlement legally ended the Briles era. As part of the deal, Cannon pulled a motion seeking permission for Briles to settle Hernandez’ suit independently from Baylor. That motion contended that Baylor’s attorneys disclosed items used as evidence to support Briles’ ouster, and thus had a conflict of interest.

The mediation began hours later–but Briles was nowhere to be found. Zalkin and Hernandez hit the ceiling. Zalkin said that his client was “hurt,” “upset,” and “offended” that Briles didn’t keep his word. In Zalkin’s view, Briles never intended to help Hernandez in the first place. Rather, he argued, Briles wielded the prospect that he would publicly support a sexual assault victim in court as leverage to avoid a potential wrongful termination suit. Zalkin added:

“He (Briles) doesn’t care about victims. He never cared about victims. He’s using victims. He used them to help build up his football program, and now he’s using Jasmin to leverage more money out of Baylor.”

Zalkin told the Waco Tribune-Herald that he was initially “shocked” when Briles didn’t show up at the mediation. Their shock turned to anger when word got out that he’d settled with Baylor. He and Hernandez see this as “another in a long line of betrayal events” for Hernandez.

If I were Hernandez or her parents, I would have every right to be very angry. At the very least, Briles was asleep at the switch while his assistants breached every standard of decency that is known. He had a chance to make amends–and blew it eight ways to Sunday.

Briles would have had a very hard sell to make in order to coach again, even as an assistant–and that’s assuming the NCAA doesn’t sanction him. But if he isn’t man enough to look a sexual assault victim in the eye and apologize for his program failing her, he is not morally fit to be anywhere near a sideline again.

(Featured image courtesy YouTube via KCEN-TV)

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.