Hue Jackson pens letter defending Art Briles hire at Grambling State
Hue Jackson sent out a message via his foundation on Monday, defending his hiring of Art Briles at Grambling State last week. The letter, also signed by Kimberly Diemert, executive director of the Hue Jackson Foundation, says the hire is a testament to the importance of “forgiveness, redemption, and enlightenment.”
Grambling State is facing an onslaught of criticism for the hiring of the former Baylor head coach but the statement from Jackson is unlikely to make things better.
While the letter notes that the Foundation supports all victims of assault, it also suggests that criticism is unwarranted – and could even “retraumatize” victims:
“As we move forward together with Coach Briles, we ask that people keep in mind that no matter your views on this topic, please remember that people can and often do become re-traumatized and re-victimized by statements which may or may not be accurate,” the letter states.
“We believe that through the hiring of Coach Briles and the well-developed programs we have in place, this hire will be instrumental in teaching others the importance of knowing how to prevent victimization, proper reporting procedures, provide adequate resources to individuals who have been victimized and develop strong law enforcement partnerships within the community.”
ESPN reporter Dan Murphy looked up financial reports from the Hue Jackson Foundation and found the organization collected $158,000 in 2019. Of that sum, $115,000 went to pay the only full-time employee and another $15,000 went to travel expenses. “It looks like they gave out roughly $4,000 in grants,” Murphy shared.
Grambling State AD also offers ‘redemption’
Shortly after the announcement, Grambling State Athletic Director Trayvean Scott told ESPN that he wanted to give Briles “a chance to really redeem himself, after understanding where the facts lie.”
The Art Briles hire garnered a large amount of attention and scrutiny due to his history at Baylor. The Bears fired Briles in 2016 amid a campus-wide sexual assault scandal that involved members of his team. Since his termination at Baylor, Art Briles has not coached at the collegiate level. As a result of the investigation, the NCAA fined Baylor University $50,000 and placed them on a four-year probational period for their mishandling of the sexual assault reports.
Although the NCAA deemed that Briles and the Bears did not break any of its bylaws, the damage was still done to his reputation. Briles threatened to file suit against the University but settled out of court.