Another college football dynasty explodes into a billion fragments even as the old Floyd Casey Stadium crumbled into ashes in Waco. Amid the allegations of sexual assault and other criminal behavior, and the allegations that Coach Art Briles, his staff, other Baylor administrators, and even possibly Ken Starr, the famous lawyer and former US Solicitor General, covered over these crimes instead of dealing with them, comes the question: DID YOU NOT LEARN ANYTHING FROM THE NOTRE DAME SCANDAL????
Before I go any further, first let me say that, as always, a person is innocent until proven guilty. The people involved in the scandal at Baylor may be innocent of the things said about them; however, I think the cast of characters remaining very quiet in the face of their demotions and sanctions, and the silence of Coach Briles himself, is speaking volumes about the accuracy of the Pepper Hamilton investigational findings. But, who can say at this point?
Now, supposing these many allegations are true, how did the coaching staff, administrators, and even the college president of a PRIVATE DENOMINATIONAL UNIVERSITY ever "look the other way" on even ONE incident? But the investigation reveals not one, but many, maybe dozens, maybe more than that! Some of the allegations go several years back, while some incidents were possibly "swept under the rug" even as Joe Paterno and Notre Dame were crumbling before our very eyes. It begs the question once again, WHY WOULD ANYONE COVER UP FOR A RAPIST, OR A BUNCH OF RAPISTS?? The corresponding question is this: Isn't the safety of all students, especially women, and their dignity and treatment AFTER being victims of sexual assault, MORE IMPORTANT THAN A FOOTBALL DYNASTY OF SUCCESS??
Maybe the answer to the above question is the new McLane Stadium that recently opened in Waco. The cost of this new "facility" is actually difficult for me to determine, as a couple of sources quote the price tag of $235,000,000, while another source stated that the price tag of the finished stadium actually ran NORTH of TWO HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS. Would this ridiculously expensive monument to college football have ever been constructed if Art Briles had not been lured to Baylor to rescue a very dismal football program? Briles accomplished "miracles" with the Baylor Bears, turning them into a championship team within two years of his arrival. A winning team means BIG DONORS DONATE BIG BUCKS. And the Bears just kept winning. There is no doubt that Art Briles far overshadowed all other Bear coaches, including Grant Teaff, the legendary head coach of the '70's and 80's. Art Briles accumulated a record of 55-34 games in seven years, including one season in which Reggie Griffin III was injured in the third game. The Bears left the basement and became a team to be feared across the college football scene...but at what cost?
The Pepper Hamilton Law Firm, in its rather lengthy and apparently WELL SUBSTANTIATED report found that Baylor staff were allegedly allowing vicious rapists to play, and not only that, were protecting those players from the law as well as they could. More disgusting and discouraging, Pepper Hamilton found that Waco Police had reported several incidents of sexual assault to Baylor authorities, but the players involved remained on the team, apparently unsanctioned. Also very disgusting was the apparently substantiated finding that some of the victims of these rapists were "discouraged" from pursuing charges against their attackers. Exactly HOW these ladies were "discouraged" was not made public, for legal reasons. At least two football players were "dismissed" from the team for "violating team rules" during this period. Exactly WHICH rules was not made public, and these players were not subjected to criminal prosecution, but simply "left town" and probably ended up on other college teams. Did they continue to violate "team rules" in their new homes? But no doubt the dignity, the humanity, the value of all the victims were certainly deemed less important than the continued success of the Bears football team. So it seems NOTHING was learned from the ashes of Notre Dame's destruction.
I admired Art Briles for his success at Baylor, and I admired the Baylor Bears for the improvement and determination they showed from the beginning of the Briles era to the end of the 2015 football season. But like the rest of the nation, I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes, so to speak. I love the game of football, and I most of all love college football, but after all it is just a game...it really is. Sure, teams want to be successful, students want their team to win, alumni want
their alma maters to do well...so they can spend their money "wisely." It is fine to want to win, to expect to win, but it is much more important that we, as "fans" demand FIRST that ALL FOOTBALL PLAYERS - STARS OR NOT - BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS OFF THE FIELD AS WELL AS ON. We as fans should demand coaches and administrators STOP PROTECTING CRIMINALS. These football (or ANY SPORT) players should arrested if they are suspected of criminal acts- end of story. No cover-ups, no being "dismissed" for violating "team rules."
It is very likely that the Baylor Bears will be "sanctioned" by the NCAA just as was Notre Dame. At least one former Bear player is in prison, another under investigation by police. Art Briles is gone and Ken Starr is publicly demoted and disgraced. These things may seem very traumatic, and no doubt some will be more concerned that the Baylor Bears may be stripped of some of their victories, just as were the Fighting Irish. But those that lost the most, the victims of rapists who were protected by the "system," are in danger of being largely forgotten. Already the news is full of speculation as to who will be the new head coach and whether or not Baylor can recruit quality players for the coming season.
I hope that college and university administrators and coaches will finally follow through with their commitments to campus safety and the protection of potential victims of campus crime, but even more, I hope that fans will actually demand this of their respective colleges and teams. I know I am suggesting the almost sacrilegious, but we fans must demand that our teams, coaches, and administrators walk this walk that they have talked about for so long. If they do not, than we should not attend their ball games, and hopefully, advertisers will find other teams on which to spend their money. I, for one, believe that no college athlete is above the law, and that anyone who sexually or physically assaults another should face the LEGAL consequences no matter what his status as an athlete may be. Nothing can heal the emotional scars of these victims except a lot of support and a lot of time, but perhaps if they received the same kind of support that we reserve for our favorite football teams, college students would be safer and college athletes would know that if they commit crimes of violence, no one will cover for them. College athletes would know that they cannot escape the consequences of their actions by wearing a football uniform and winning a couple of bowl games.
Before I go any further, first let me say that, as always, a person is innocent until proven guilty. The people involved in the scandal at Baylor may be innocent of the things said about them; however, I think the cast of characters remaining very quiet in the face of their demotions and sanctions, and the silence of Coach Briles himself, is speaking volumes about the accuracy of the Pepper Hamilton investigational findings. But, who can say at this point?
Now, supposing these many allegations are true, how did the coaching staff, administrators, and even the college president of a PRIVATE DENOMINATIONAL UNIVERSITY ever "look the other way" on even ONE incident? But the investigation reveals not one, but many, maybe dozens, maybe more than that! Some of the allegations go several years back, while some incidents were possibly "swept under the rug" even as Joe Paterno and Notre Dame were crumbling before our very eyes. It begs the question once again, WHY WOULD ANYONE COVER UP FOR A RAPIST, OR A BUNCH OF RAPISTS?? The corresponding question is this: Isn't the safety of all students, especially women, and their dignity and treatment AFTER being victims of sexual assault, MORE IMPORTANT THAN A FOOTBALL DYNASTY OF SUCCESS??
Maybe the answer to the above question is the new McLane Stadium that recently opened in Waco. The cost of this new "facility" is actually difficult for me to determine, as a couple of sources quote the price tag of $235,000,000, while another source stated that the price tag of the finished stadium actually ran NORTH of TWO HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS. Would this ridiculously expensive monument to college football have ever been constructed if Art Briles had not been lured to Baylor to rescue a very dismal football program? Briles accomplished "miracles" with the Baylor Bears, turning them into a championship team within two years of his arrival. A winning team means BIG DONORS DONATE BIG BUCKS. And the Bears just kept winning. There is no doubt that Art Briles far overshadowed all other Bear coaches, including Grant Teaff, the legendary head coach of the '70's and 80's. Art Briles accumulated a record of 55-34 games in seven years, including one season in which Reggie Griffin III was injured in the third game. The Bears left the basement and became a team to be feared across the college football scene...but at what cost?
The Pepper Hamilton Law Firm, in its rather lengthy and apparently WELL SUBSTANTIATED report found that Baylor staff were allegedly allowing vicious rapists to play, and not only that, were protecting those players from the law as well as they could. More disgusting and discouraging, Pepper Hamilton found that Waco Police had reported several incidents of sexual assault to Baylor authorities, but the players involved remained on the team, apparently unsanctioned. Also very disgusting was the apparently substantiated finding that some of the victims of these rapists were "discouraged" from pursuing charges against their attackers. Exactly HOW these ladies were "discouraged" was not made public, for legal reasons. At least two football players were "dismissed" from the team for "violating team rules" during this period. Exactly WHICH rules was not made public, and these players were not subjected to criminal prosecution, but simply "left town" and probably ended up on other college teams. Did they continue to violate "team rules" in their new homes? But no doubt the dignity, the humanity, the value of all the victims were certainly deemed less important than the continued success of the Bears football team. So it seems NOTHING was learned from the ashes of Notre Dame's destruction.
I admired Art Briles for his success at Baylor, and I admired the Baylor Bears for the improvement and determination they showed from the beginning of the Briles era to the end of the 2015 football season. But like the rest of the nation, I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes, so to speak. I love the game of football, and I most of all love college football, but after all it is just a game...it really is. Sure, teams want to be successful, students want their team to win, alumni want
their alma maters to do well...so they can spend their money "wisely." It is fine to want to win, to expect to win, but it is much more important that we, as "fans" demand FIRST that ALL FOOTBALL PLAYERS - STARS OR NOT - BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS OFF THE FIELD AS WELL AS ON. We as fans should demand coaches and administrators STOP PROTECTING CRIMINALS. These football (or ANY SPORT) players should arrested if they are suspected of criminal acts- end of story. No cover-ups, no being "dismissed" for violating "team rules."
It is very likely that the Baylor Bears will be "sanctioned" by the NCAA just as was Notre Dame. At least one former Bear player is in prison, another under investigation by police. Art Briles is gone and Ken Starr is publicly demoted and disgraced. These things may seem very traumatic, and no doubt some will be more concerned that the Baylor Bears may be stripped of some of their victories, just as were the Fighting Irish. But those that lost the most, the victims of rapists who were protected by the "system," are in danger of being largely forgotten. Already the news is full of speculation as to who will be the new head coach and whether or not Baylor can recruit quality players for the coming season.
I hope that college and university administrators and coaches will finally follow through with their commitments to campus safety and the protection of potential victims of campus crime, but even more, I hope that fans will actually demand this of their respective colleges and teams. I know I am suggesting the almost sacrilegious, but we fans must demand that our teams, coaches, and administrators walk this walk that they have talked about for so long. If they do not, than we should not attend their ball games, and hopefully, advertisers will find other teams on which to spend their money. I, for one, believe that no college athlete is above the law, and that anyone who sexually or physically assaults another should face the LEGAL consequences no matter what his status as an athlete may be. Nothing can heal the emotional scars of these victims except a lot of support and a lot of time, but perhaps if they received the same kind of support that we reserve for our favorite football teams, college students would be safer and college athletes would know that if they commit crimes of violence, no one will cover for them. College athletes would know that they cannot escape the consequences of their actions by wearing a football uniform and winning a couple of bowl games.
No comments:
Post a Comment