By Ken Reed
If half the allegations in a new lawsuit filed against Baylor are true, Baylor deserves the death penalty.
I don’t care how hard it might be for Baylor to rebuild its football program after serving the death penalty. What we already know about what went on in Art Briles’ football program at Baylor is sickening. And the allegations in this new lawsuit are even worse.
The latest lawsuit filed by a former female student at Baylor claims as many as 52 “acts of rape” by 31 Baylor football players from 2011 to 2014. Included in that claim are five gang rapes, at least two of which were committed by 10 or more players at one time.
The 2006 Duke lacrosse case, in which three Duke lacrosse players were falsely accused of rape, should be a warning to us all not to rush to judgement based solely on allegations.
However, unlike the Duke situation, in the Baylor case we already have the rape convictions of two former Baylor players, financial settlements with three women who said they were assaulted by Baylor players, and evidence that Briles went to great lengths to protect accused players from university and law enforcement authorities.
Given that, what we know today should be enough to ban former Baylor head football coach Art Briles from coaching in the NCAA for life.
The death penalty for Baylor? Possibly, but let’s see how some of these still active lawsuits play out first.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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