“There are two courts. There’s the court of law and the court of public opinion,” Burness, the former Duke spokesman, said. “It’s very important that the institution (Baylor) recognize that there are times when you almost have to take the legal consequences, because what is at stake is ultimately the brand of the institution as place of integrity or not.”
With up to eight members of Baylor’s 2016 class still not enrolled as they await a decision regarding a release of their Letter of Intent, the news regarding the two junior college prospects could be even more damaging with both expected to be contributors their first season on campus.
Another report of another rape by a Baylor football player.
A woman KCEN TV identified as “Ally” told the station that she was sexually assaulted in the spring of 2014 by a current member of the team. She was a freshman that year and went to the campus health clinic the morning after the alleged incident occurred. Ally also said that she’s afraid of retaliation from his friends and family.
One of the JUCO players released, Jeremy Faulk, has been accused of sexualy assault at FAU before transferring and has now been accused of sexual assault at Baylor. He denies it, but Grobe is forcing him out.
- Defensive tackle Jeremy Faulk landed at Baylor in January after previously playing at Florida Atlantic and Garden City Community College but told ESPN’s Outside the Lines he is no longer part of the team because of an allegation of sexual assault. Faulk, who participated in spring practice, told OTL he was questioned on June 1 about an alleged April incident said to have occurred on Baylor’s campus. He was also queried about another incident from his time at FAU.
Baylor University Names Task Forces to Act Upon 105 Recommendations and Implement Improvements to Address Sexual Violence Prevention and Response
Pepper Hamilton provided the University with 105 recommendations focused on improving Baylor’s prevention and response to sexual violence. During the course of Pepper Hamilton’s investigation, Baylor worked to make real-time improvements and has already made progress in a number of areas, including:
Committing infrastructure and resources for effective Title IX implementation, including adding three new staff positions within the Title IX Office and adopting case management systems to facilitate connection of students and support services;
Mandating annual Title IX training for faculty, staff, administration, contractors, part-time staff, coaches and students;
Allocating increased resources and staff within the Counseling Center and dedicating quality space to expanding the Center;
Funding continuing education for all campus professionals on trauma-informed practices;
Adding officers to Baylor’s Department of Public Safety and consolidating campus security under the -Baylor University Police Department;
-Sharing the findings of the investigation with authorities, including the NCAA; and
Extending and broadening the “It’s On Us” campaign to reach all students, faculty and staff with information about how to report an incident of sexual violence, each person’s responsibility to Title IX and understanding the range of resources and support available when needed.
Baylor’s trying to settle the Title IX cases before they get to discovery. Every day, I find it hard to believe that the DOE doesn’t move them to the top of the list for Title IX investigations.
Quickly settling the Hernandez lawsuit would shield Baylor from potentially embarrassing pre-trial discovery and depositions from Briles, Starr, former athletic director Ian McCaw, school regents or any of Briles’ assistants who have been allowed to stay on staff.
Baylor is a private university. Most of the Pepper Hamilton investigation has not been released publicly beyond a 13-page “Finding of Fact” distributed by the school on May 26th. University regents say they didn’t receive a formal, written investigation report, but instead a private oral presentation.
“A law firm does not conduct an eight-month investigation and give a briefing without written summaries and analysis,” he said. “It may be fair to say if Pepper Hamilton is going to reduce its report into a form acceptable for public disclosure, they might need more time. It’s not simple enough to just redact names. The Board of Regents understandably has to be concerned about revealing victims. There are legitimate concerns that shouldn’t be ignored. If that’s the issue that they’re working on a report that does not violate confidentiality, if they said that, I think they’d be applauded by Baylor alumni.”
Rumor went around earlier today that Briles was going to be suspended for a year and reinstated, here’s a good response from Dan Bernstein in Chicago:
Even the fact that it has gotten this far is an insult, regardless of whether the board can muster the votes. USA Today has reported that the faction behind the proposal is a “small minority” and “on the margins,” but that anyone at all in a position of influence at Baylor would want this is offensive.
“I don’t understand how you can continue to employ people who have been found to have engaged in this type of behavior,” said Alex Zalkin, an attorney for Jasmin Hernandez, who has filed a Title IX suit against Baylor. “I think the public has the right to know who specifically was involved.”
Normally I don’t have anything to do with the Dude of WV, but someone retweeted him into my timeline and this was actually a well thought out statement:
More Baylor today as they just can’t get out of the media:
David Ubben/Sports on Earth - BRILES DEBATE STILL LINGERING http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/183907894/baylor-regents-art-briles-fired-suspended-faq?partnerId=as_mlb_20160614_62725506&adbid=742725837766557697&adbpl=tw&adbpr=595667888 At the very least, Baylor and Briles’ biggest supporters and detractors agree on one central principle: The 13-page “Findings of Fact” document released on May 26 isn’t detailed enough. It’s based on nearly nine months of research and interviews with 65 people in various departments around the university by the Pepper Hamilton law firm. Baylor’s failings in handling sexual violence allegations stretch beyond the football program and into university administration, but no coaches, players or university staff are explicitly mentioned by name within the 13 pages.
Pat Forde/Yahoo Sports - Baylor faction’s post-Art Briles turmoil shows ugly side of college fandom
In less than two weeks, @BayloRevolution has accumulated 879 followers as of 5:40 p.m. EDT Tuesday. That’s hardly a huge following, but it’s worth noting that Baylor’s sexual-assault awareness Twitter account, @ItsOnUsBU, had 310 followers at the same time. That account has existed for a year longer than @BayloRevolution.
Those alumni include Jim Turner, the former chairman of Dr. Pepper Bottling Co.; Drayton McLane, the former owner of the Houston Astros baseball team; Bob Simpson, an oil-and-gas executive who is a co-owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team; and trial lawyer John Eddie Williams, according to people familiar with the matter.
KCEN HD News has been demanding transparency from Baylor University, urging the administration to release the findings of the Pepper Hamilton Report, which was the culmination of an investigation into how Baylor leadership handled reports of sexual assault involving members of the University community.
More today, the story just keeps getting worse and worse
Bruce Feldman/FoxSports - Talk of Art Briles’ possible return ‘unbelievable’ to alleged victim’s family
“This is a very dirty place that we’ve seen has been very conniving and low down. It’s hard to fathom because not only is this a university, but it’s a Christian university.”
Asked if Briles should return to his job, McLane said, “That’s a judgment they have to make. I’ve been very close to Art. I think he did a great job at Baylor. But I’m at a disadvantage. Whatever evidence the Philadelphia law firm has, I haven’t seen it. I can’t make a judgment on it.”
The lawsuit alleges Baylor violated federal Title IX anti-gender discrimination regulations, and that Baylor’s failure to properly investigate and respond to their claims “furthered sexual harassment and a hostile environment, effectively denying plaintiffs, and other female students, access to educational opportunities.”
The lawsuit says the woman in the 2004 attack dropped out in 2008, then re-enrolled at Baylor in 2015 only to be suspended in 2016 when anxiety over media reports of the investigation into sexual assaults impacted her school work. The woman in the 2014 case said she dropped out after the fall 2015 semester.
The lawsuit doesn’t say whether the woman in the 2013 attack remains in school, but said it has “severely impaired her physical and mental health and well-being.”
Attorney John Clune of Boulder, Colorado, who represented the former Baylor women’s soccer player in her case against the school, told Outside the Lines last month that he could have as many as three additional victims who might file lawsuits against Baylor.
