Baylor University fired their football head coach Art Briles for mishandling sexual assault allegations made against football players. Baylor president Ken Starr and additional members of the administration and athletics program were also removed. It turns out that not only did they not investigate or punish the suspected athletes, officials actively discouraged possible sexual assault victims from reporting incidents and in one case retaliated against a woman who did.
via TMZ Sports:
It’s all part of an investigation by a law firm hired by Baylor to look into alleged misconduct by school officials regarding SEVERAL violent allegations against student athletes, primarily football players.
The report states clear as day, investigators say University administrators directly discouraged complainants from reporting or participating in student conduct processes, contributing to a hostile environment.
“In one instance, those actions constituted retaliation against a complainant for reporting sexual assault.”
The report does not specify how they retaliated.
Investigators also say school officials failed to “identify and respond to a pattern of sexual violence by a football player, to take action in response to reports of a sexual assault by multiple football players, and to take action in response to a report of dating violence.”
The sad thing about all is, is that it often happens in big football and basketball schools but it doesn’t come out. The voices of those victims go unheard. Hopefully the explosive revelations of this case will reveal others.
