Believe it or not, Art Briles has not been fired by Baylor just yet.
According to a report from Chip Brown of Scout.com, Baylor officials are set to meet on Monday to decide if the university should move on from Briles or only ban him from the program for a year. Some of Baylor’s big-money donors who helped fund the new $300 million football stadium are reportedly pushing for a one-year suspension for Briles.
Briles met with “key figures” associated with Baylor last week, though it is unclear how he would feel about a one-year suspension.
As Brown notes, some Baylor administrators feel former president Ken Starr is to blame for the sexual assault allegations that were ignored, as he did not hire a Title IX coordinator from 2011-2014. Those officials argue that the football coaching staff should have been trained better in how to handle such situations.
Given everything we have learned about the Baylor football program over the last year, it would be ridiculous if the Bears didn’t clean house. While Starr has arguably made himself look worse than anyone since the scandal erupted, an independent study concluded that Briles and other members of his coaching staff ignored sexual assault allegations. One former Baylor student claimed she was attacked by a former player and the coaches did nothing.
Briles has to go. It doesn’t matter how much he knew about, he is ultimately responsible for what went on under him. Banning him for a year would be disgraceful.
