Ok.
So, one of the players convicted of rape and currently in prison was LB Tevin Elliott. He's convicted of raping 6 women...Briles happened to suspend him indefinitely for a violation of team policy in April of 2012...Elliott was arrested in May of 2012. So, Briles didn't know about the rapes, but he suspended Elliott for an unspecified reason?
Then, there's this:
One of the women allegedly assaulted by Elliott told ESPN that she and her mother were directed by Baylor officials to meet with Bethany McCraw, the school's chief judicial officer. That's when they learned of Elliott’s five other alleged victims—news which left them justifiably confused by the school’s lack of action.
"I'm like, oh my gosh, six?" the woman, who ESPN calls “Kim,” told the publication. "We essentially asked, 'Well, why are there six?' and, 'Well, does the football team know about this? Does Art Briles know about this?' And [McCraw] said, 'Yes, they know about it, but it turns into a he said-she said, so there's got to be, actually a court decision in order to act on it in any sort of way.'"
So, confirmation from Baylor Chief Judicial Officer that Briles knew.
Then there's Jasmin Hernandez, who says she was raped by Tevin Elliott in 2012, filed a Title IX lawsuit against Baylor in March. She called Briles’ office and was told by a secretary that the “office had heard of the allegations and were looking into it.” Hernandez's father also placed calls to the office several times, but never received a response.
Then there's also Boise State transfer Sam Ukwuachu, who Chris Peterson confirmed warned Art Briles about prior to allowing him to transfer to Baylor...not only did Baylor accept him anyway he then raped a soccer player and had that covered up by the administration.
Ukwuachu then had to sit out a transfer season, then had to sit out a second season after he was indicted on rape charges in June 2014, a fact that remained unknown to the press, because Briles obliquely cited “some issues” for keeping the player on the sidelines.
Some excerpts from Pepper Hamilton's report:
"Football coaches and staff took affirmative steps to maintain internal control over discipline of players and to actively divert cases from the student conduct or criminal processes," the Finding of Facts document read. "In some cases, football coaches and staff had inappropriate involvement in disciplinary and criminal matters or engaged in improper conduct that reinforced an overall perception that football was above the rules, and that there was no culture of accountability for misconduct."
In some instances, the report said football staff members met directly with the accuser and/or her parents and did not report player misconduct to an appropriate administrator outside athletics. Because the complaint was not reported, "no action was taken to support complainants, fairly and impartially evaluate the conduct under Title IX, address identified cultural concerns within the football program, or protect campus safety once aware of a potential pattern of sexual violence by multiple football players."
The Pepper Hamilton investigation found that Baylor football staff members "conducted their own untrained internal inquiries, outside of policy, which improperly discredited complainants and denied them the right to a fair, impartial and informed investigation, interim measures or promises promised under University policy," per the regents' report. These choices "posed a risk to campus safety and the integrity of the University."
Listen, I get that he's innocent until proven guilty....but I'm not sure at this point, based on what we know the "defending Art Briles" hill is the smartest hill to plant your flag and die on.
