If this sounds familiar it’s because this report reads like too many of the other incidents that the school failed to adequately address for far too long.
We know when it comes to this subject, Baylor’s credibility is trash.
If another alleged sexual assault at Baylor was going to happen, the question was how would the school deal with the matter.
There is considerable murkiness in this latest report that should create reasonable doubt as to what exactly happened in the early morning of Nov. 12, following Baylor’s game against Texas Tech in Arlington.
The KWTX report said there were “at least two” football players involved, who were redshirts.
If it’s two, say that. If it’s three, say that.
Were they freshmen who were redshirting, or were they players who were listed on the roster as redshirt players, such as sophomores or juniors?
That dynamic changes everything.
A true redshirt is not playing; he’s standing on the sideline in street clothes.
If they were players who were redshirt sophomores, they could have been involved in the incident, and then still played in the Bears’ remaining two games against Iowa State and TCU.
The police reports filed are heavily redacted. There are also several details that are non-specific, including how many assailants were potentially involved.
No arrests were made, nor have any charges been filed.
Sources said Baylor football coach Matt Rhule met with the players in question, and thus far no official action has been taken by the school. The school is investigating the matter.
Sources also said that once this issue became public - one of the people involved reportedly put the video taped act on social media - the issue was immediately turned over to Baylor's Title IX office. And the players in question were immediately removed from all team activities.
Since the last Baylor scandal, college athletic departments are now immediately turning over such matters to the main administration offices, and Title IX departments.
Baylor issued the following statement: "Baylor University takes any allegation of sexual assault seriously. The University is unwavering in our commitment to follow our well-documented Title IX policy and procedures in regards to reporting and responding to incidents of sexual assault. Additionally, the University is required to protect the confidentiality of all parties involved to ensure a fair and equitable process.
“The responsibility of responding to alleged incidents of sexual violence does not rest solely in the hands of any specific individual or unit. It is a University response dictated by our Title IX policy. Baylor University remains committed to providing for the safety and security of our campus community.”
Such a statement doesn't say much, but it's more than the school did under the previous regime.
The timeline would fly at nearly every other university, except the one that for decades refused to acknowledge sex occurs between non-married parties, and worked hard to deny the existence of sexual assault.
Baylor has spent millions and worked to clean up its previous issues, but everything is not perfect; to fully clean this one up requires a shift not in the culture of the football team, but rather that of the university’s administration.
The issue of dealing with sexual assault at Baylor was not just to Briles’ football program, but the entire school. The problem was the football team functioned like a front porch to the university.
Almost immediately after Rhule accepted the job as Briles' full-time replacement, the former Temple coach often spoke of the need to turn over any talk of sexual assault to trained Title IX officers, and the need to respect women.
The rhetoric is appropriate, but did Baylor actually stop to listen to the alleged victims, or are the school’s leaders still running in fear and trying to maintain the status quo in an effort to make bad news just go away?
Did any of the football coaches try to talk to any of the victims? Was there any degree of victim shaming involved? Was there any motivation on the part of anyone involved to protect the football team rather than aid a victim?
This latest incident is full of holes, but something did happen. Something that required a police report. An investigation.
And if the answer to any of these questions is yes, Baylor's tragedy, and scandal, is not over.
