It’s perhaps fitting given how this disturbing situation at Baylor has played out that the university offered up an update on the situation without providing any actual information. Or, at least, any detailed information.
In the wake of several high-profile sexual assault accusations made against athletes at the university, specifically football players, BU engaged the services of the Pepper Hamilton law firm to investigate the school’s handling of the allegations. In connection to that investigation, the school sent out the following “update” earlier this evening:At its regular spring meeting, the Baylor University Board of Regents attended to a variety of matters related to the business of the University. The Board received a comprehensive briefing from Pepper Hamilton LLP, whose services were retained by the Board in September 2015 to conduct an independent and external investigation of the University’s response to reports of sexual and interpersonal violence. Over the coming weeks, the Board will carefully consider the information provided in the briefing and determine how to decisively act upon Pepper Hamilton’s findings and recommendations. The members of the Board will be guided by their faith as they make significant decisions for the welfare of Baylor students, the direction of the institution and the good of Baylor Nation.
“These deliberations are vital as we seek to preserve and reinforce trust in Baylor University,” said Richard Willis, B.B.A. ’81, M.B.A. ’82, chair of the Board of Regents. “Thoroughly understanding the findings and acting on the recommendations to ensure the safety of all students are the Board’s highest priority.”
And there you have it, the extent of the update. Obviously, it’s unclear when -- or possibly even if -- the report will be released to the public.
Neither the university nor the football program has done much in the way of publicly addressing the myriad allegations made by women against male athletes, which has added yet another layer of criticism given the facts as we know them.
In early April, ESPN‘s Outside the Lines reported that the university essentially ignored for two years a woman’s complaint that she was sexually assaulted by two Bears football players. One of those players, Tre’Von Armstead, was expelled from BU in February of this year — he was dismissed from the team in September of last year — after the university determined that the female victim in the 2013 incident “was too drunk to consent to sex and that Armstead should have known that.”
In late March, a different woman filed a lawsuit against Baylor in which she claims she was raped by a Bear football player, Tevin Elliott, and that the university was “deliberately indifferent to complaints by student victims of rape.”
In 2014, Elliott was convicted of sexually assaulting another different BU student at a party in 2012 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Elliott’s conviction, OTL reported in January, came after he was accused of either rape or assault five other times from October of 2009 to April of 2012 while he was still a member of the football program. In the OTL report, one of Elliott’s alleged victims, identified only as “Tanya,” alleges that the university essentially ignored allegations because the sexual assault happened off-campus and, in her mind, a football player was involved.
One of the more disturbing portions of the report was that, two weeks before “Tanya” was raped by Elliott, another woman, identified as “Kim,” had filed a police report accusing Elliott of sexually assaulting her.
In addition to Elliott, former Bear football player Sam Ukwuachu was convicted of sexually assaulting a BU student in October of 2013 following the Homecoming win over Iowa State and was sentenced to 10 years felony probation. In December of last year, the victim in that case reached a settlement with the university.
And finally, reports surfaced in mid-April of this year that the Waco Police are investigating a “prominent Baylor football player” for alleged sexual assault. That player turned out to be Shawn Oakman, the star defensive lineman who is now busy preparing for the 2016 NFL draft.
“It’s a situation where it’s a concern and it’s something we’re dealing with on a daily basis,” head coach Art Briles was quoted as saying in the middle of April.