Baylor scandal should cost Art Briles his job

The latest allegations of Baylor football players involved in physical and sexual assaults against women could cost head coach Art Briles his job.

Art Briles is 65-37 in eight seasons with the Baylor Bears, including four seasons with at least 10 wins and four years ranked in the top 13 of the final top 25 poll. He coached the first Heisman Trophy winner in program history (Robert Griffin III), found a way to beat Oklahoma and Texas and routinely is among the leaders for offense each year.

However, forget about all the good things because Briles may not see a ninth season because of the actions of his football players off the field and Baylor’s lack of action when it comes to addressing allegations of sexual and physical assault from its players.

Baylor has seen three players in the last four years arrested on sexual assault charges. Shawn Oakman is the most recent after he was arrested in April. Tevin Elliott and Sam Ukwuachu were both convicted of rape in January and August in separate trials and Baylor is the subject of a Title IX investigation.

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And now a new report from Outside the Lines shows new assault allegations that went unknown to the public because Waco police suppressed the reports to keep it out of the public consciousness.

Further, the report from Outside the Lines says Baylor officials, including some coaches, knew of the allegations and did nothing to discipline the players. The truly heartbreaking part about this is the victims felt like the university wouldn’t do anything so they didn’t come forward and press charges.

A 2011 incident involved defensive lineman Gary Mason, running back Isaac Williams and cornerback Tyler Stephenson who were charged with assault but due to “the potential high-profile nature of the incident” the investigating asked his commander for the case to “be pulled from the computer system so that only persons who had a reason to inquire about the report would be able to access it,” The case was kept in a locked office.

In 2012, Stephenson violently restrained a woman after she tried to break up with him. She said he “pushed her on the couch and wrestled her for her phone so she couldn’t call for help. When she was able to get outside his apartment he lured her to, he picked her up and threw her against the outside wall of the apartment and leaving her dizzy. He grabbed her hair and tried to get her phone before fleeing after three men approached. Charges weren’t filed after she didn’t return calls from the police.

In 2014, running back Devin Chafin allegedly assaulted a woman in front of his teammates when he slammed a woman’s arm into a car. The victim had photos of her bruised arm to show to police and said this wasn’t the first time he assaulted her. According to the report, the victim said Chafin grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against a wall, threw her to the floor and kicked her.

When asked why she didn’t press charges, she gave a heartbreaking account that was shared by others when she said she’s “seen other girls go through it, and nothing ever happened to the football players. It’s mind-boggling to see it continue to happen. I can’t understand why. I think as long as they’re catching footballs and scoring touchdowns, the school won’t do anything.”

How Briles has managed to keep him name out of this growing Baylor scandal for as long as he has is staggering. Baylor’s image has forever been tainted because of these accusations. And it’s one ugly accusation after another. Now there’s a police cover-up to boot?

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Briles is a great football coach when it comes to x’s and o’s and his a brilliant offensive mind and innovator. But I don’t know how a coach can survive with so much evidence indicating Briles was aware of these assaults and did nothing to discipline these players.

That creates an environment where some students may not feel safe on campus. It enables violent behavior and then they are rewarded on the football field for their exploits.

it’s sickening.

Baylor president Ken Starr may take the fall for these allegations because he’s easier to replace than Briles who has orchestrated the greatest success in Baylor football history. As in, he’s bringing in millions of dollars for the university.

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The ones paying the price are the victims, potential victims who walk around on campus in fear while the ones in power turn a blind eye and count their money.

Baylor has sat on their hands for five years. It’s time to take action.

Starr has to go. Briles has to go.

Then, Baylor can begin to clean up the mess they created.

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