Art Briles

[HogDawg]

Here's the more important question: is there any real evidence of cover up or of 50 rapes? There has been one rape conviction for any Baylor football player. There have been few, if any, charges brought at all. The only thing we've seen is a few attempts to go the civil route because it's easier to win a settlement than a conviction.

I'm not saying nothing was wrong at BU, but I am saying a lot of you are making judgments based on what a plaintiff lawyer and ESPN have said -- not based on anything you really know has been proven.

Briles failed to do his job correctly. He needed to be fired. I don't think I'd support hiring him somewhere else unless he made credible explanations about why some of the accusations should be rejected. But the big problem at Baylor was Ken Starr and his refusal to recognize the Obama admin's interpretations of Title IX. I have yet to see any credible evidence that Briles was actively trying to cover up rapes -- there's a lot of attempts to connect distant dots in the articles, but there are very few facts that they're actually hanging the story on. Trial by media doesn't impress me much.

Of course, this story is very complex. But, I don't even think Briles deserved to be fired. He didn't rape anyone, and as I've previously stated, he's not a professional investigator. From what I can ascertain, Briles --and others-- were scapegoats for a university attempting to minimize financial damage and bad press caused by a series of lawsuits related to an alleged series of "rapes" supposedly committed by football players in "off campus" housing. Briles DROPPED his libel suit against Baylor after the school agreed to pay him over $30M to go away.

The article in the link below makes reference to the fact that the rape numbers have always been unsubstantiated. The same series of articles also state that Baylor didn't investigate --as required by Title IX-- for over 2 years (according to the lawsuit and ESPN), and that's what got them in trouble with the NCAA. Also, the Waco Police Department didn't investigate either, because the primary complainant (Jane Doe) declined to press charges. How is that the fault of Art Briles?

Anyway, here's Briles' response in the article:

Art Briles' response

Art Briles, the former head football coach who was fired in May in response to the scandal, had no knowledge of the 52 sexual assaults cited in the lawsuit, or of any payoff to a victim to keep quiet, his lawyer Ernest Cannon said.
"Lawyers can say whatever they want to in pleadings," Cannon said. "I haven't seen any facts."
He added that the quote in the lawsuit attributed to his client's son, Kendal Briles, did not "sound like the Kendal that I know." Florida Atlantic University, which recently hired Kendal Briles to be its offensive coordinator, did not respond for a request for comment.
The allegations also were met with push back by a former recruiting chair for the Baylor Bruins, a "hostess" group for prospective athletes visiting campus. Katie Norman tweeted that no one in the Baylor Bruins instructed women to sleep with recruits, and that she was only asked to hang out with them at games.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/bayl...layers-4-years

[detltu]

So if I'm understanding the logic here, if he shows up suddenly our players decide to become rapist?

Certainly not. And that's why he will have to be a coordinator before he gets another shot at a head job. He did show a propensity for recruiting people with known issues and that would have to be closely watched. He also looked the other way when those issues resurfaced.

[glm47]

I thought I saw recently that it was three, but I agree that based on the reports that is not many actual convictions. The whole crux of the scandal was that the fact that the allegations were covered up and prevented from getting that far. To Hogdawg's point, that lies at the feet of the police. If that were the end of the story then Art Briles and the Baylor admin wouldn't deserve the beating they have taken. The text messages prove that Briles knew (at least in some instances) that this was happening and didn't remove the players from the team or take any other action. He also had a habit of recruiting players that had previous legal issues.

3 out of 50 plus? Why is that?

How many settled civil cases and got paid?

[HogDawg]

3 out of 50 plus? Why is that?

How many settled civil cases and got paid?

14 "survivors" sued the university when the money grab started. It's almost impossible to find out who actually received cash settlements. Most "survivors" weren't interested in justice against their alleged abusers, just cash from the school.

As of one year ago (I can't find any updated info since), there was only one (1) conviction that stood (WR Tevin Elliott), and it was from 2013. Elliott was sentenced to 20 years. There was another conviction --DE Sam Ukwuachu got 6 months in jail and 20 yrs probation-- but that conviction was overturned in 2015 by a judge. Two other players were arrested in the spring of 2016, but for some reason they have never gone to court.

So, there's your answer: 1 conviction, from 2013. And it was the very first one that everyone already knew about before the news broke in 2015 and 2016.

[Dwayne From Minden]

So if I'm understanding the logic here, if he shows up suddenly our players decide to become rapist?

No, the entire student body in general...

[RGTech98]

Y'all are killing me by trying to give a HC a bye because the number of rape convictions are low. Rape cases are rarely reported in the first place and rarely result in a conviction. Most often the first action of the victim is to go home and take a shower which removes all evidence. Then they don't consider reporting the incident (rape) for days or even weeks or months; then it becomes a he said/she issue that most prosecutors won't touch.

The issue at Baylor is the volume of complaints that came out once the first victim seemed to actually be heard. It uncovered a systematic desire to look the other way by everyone including the police and the HC. But the buck has to stop somewhere and in athletics it is with the HC - PERIOD. That is what he/she is paid for...

[Dixonfor6]

Y'all are killing me by trying to give a HC a bye because the number of rape convictions are low. Rape cases are rarely reported in the first place and rarely result in a conviction. Most often the first action of the victim is to go home and take a shower which removes all evidence. Then they don't consider reporting the incident (rape) for days or even weeks or months; then it becomes a he said/she issue that most prosecutors won't touch.

The issue at Baylor is the volume of complaints that came out once the first victim seemed to actually be heard. It uncovered a systematic desire to look the other way by everyone including the police and the HC. But the buck has to stop somewhere and in athletics it is with the HC - PERIOD. That is what he/she is paid for...

No they were just a bunch of snowflakes! Boys will be boys!

[HogDawg]

Y'all are killing me by trying to give a HC a bye because the number of rape convictions are low. Rape cases are rarely reported in the first place and rarely result in a conviction. Most often the first action of the victim is to go home and take a shower which removes all evidence. Then they don't consider reporting the incident (rape) for days or even weeks or months; then it becomes a he said/she issue that most prosecutors won't touch.

The issue at Baylor is the volume of complaints that came out once the first victim seemed to actually be heard. It uncovered a systematic desire to look the other way by everyone including the police and the HC. But the buck has to stop somewhere and in athletics it is with the HC - PERIOD. That is what he/she is paid for...

[RGTech98]

Very articulate...

Unlike in a court of law where the presumption is innocent until proven guilty, this is a free market society (unless you are in a union), a HC's employer doesn't need much, if any justification to fire/dismiss without cause. And lack of appropriate oversight is and public concern is plenty in most cases...

[RGTech98]

Apologize for extra 'is'. I can't edit a post on my phone...

[champion110]

Y'all are killing me by trying to give a HC a bye because the number of rape convictions are low. Rape cases are rarely reported in the first place and rarely result in a conviction. Most often the first action of the victim is to go home and take a shower which removes all evidence. Then they don't consider reporting the incident (rape) for days or even weeks or months; then it becomes a he said/she issue that most prosecutors won't touch.

The issue at Baylor is the volume of complaints that came out once the first victim seemed to actually be heard. It uncovered a systematic desire to look the other way by everyone including the police and the HC. But the buck has to stop somewhere and in athletics it is with the HC - PERIOD. That is what he/she is paid for...

Excellent post.....

[johnnylightnin]

Did I read that Hopson failed to disclose the rape allegation of a recruit?

[Dwayne From Minden]

Did I read that Hopson failed to disclose the rape allegation of a recruit?

Yes...

Hopson is paid to win ballgames, that's the bottom line

Whistle as we walk past the graveyard -

[Blue Dawg]

Yes...

Hopson is paid to win ballgames, that's the bottom line

Whistle as we walk past the graveyard -

In Summit's case, we got all the scandal and none of the winning! lol

[Dwayne From Minden]

In Summit's case, we got all the scandal and none of the winning! lol

I'm not even taking Summit into account

Our athletes are far from lilly white and angelic

That's why I don't rush to judgement about other programs and their leaders