When Baylor University announced at the end of May it would place head coach Art Briles under suspension “with intent to terminate” amid a university sexual assault scandal, Briles’ exit seemed like nothing more than a formality. Briles apparently said as much to his own players, writing in a text he was “no longer the head football coach” at Baylor.
But this week, various reports indicated some at the school were having second thoughts about firing him. That was until Thursday, when the Associated Press reported the following:
Fired Baylor coach Art Briles is ripping his former employer, accusing the school of wrongful termination and indicating he has no interest in settling a federal lawsuit filed against him and the university by a woman who was raped by a football player.
His claims come from a court filing as part of that lawsuit.
Briles’ apparent firing coincided with Baylor’s release of “findings of fact” by law firm Pepper Hamilton, which found “coaches” met with sexual assault victims, then didn’t report to law enforcement. Since then, two of Briles’ staffers from outside the coaching staff have reportedly been fired, though the rest of the coaches remain.
Scout’s Chip Brown reported Monday morning that Baylor’s board of regents was weighing a one-year suspension of Briles instead of a firing, at the urging of donors.
One potential factor, according to Brown and others:
If Baylor can’t prove Briles deserved to be fired with cause (as in, for his conduct off the field), it could end up owing him the $40 million remaining on his contract.
Briles wants Baylor to “turn over all its files” related to the university scandal, per the AP; Pepper Hamilton did not name any specific wrongdoings by any specific coaches or compile a written version with more details.
The filing included a letter from Briles’ attorney, which included the following:
The motive of Baylor University and the Board of Regents was to use its Head Football Coach and the Baylor Athletic Department as a camouflage to disguise and distract from its own institutional failure to comply with Title IX.
Athletic director Ian McCaw resigned, and school president and chancellor Ken Starr has lost both those jobs (he remains in a post at Baylor’s law school despite tone-deaf public comments).
The Bears have even hired a new head coach for 2016, former Wake Forest boss Jim Grobe. Baylor’s 2017 recruiting class is basically gone, and many of its 2016 freshman players want out.
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