Baylor coach says comments about ex-DE facing sexual assault charge taken out of context

Baylor head coach Jim Grobe’s curious comments about former defensive end Shawn Oakman have wandered into the theater of the absurd.

Monday, Grobe said “I don’t know who Shawn Oakman is” when he was asked about the ex-player being in the team’s locker room after the Bears’ Week 3 win at Rice. Oakman is currently facing a charge of felony sexual assault.

Wednesday, Grobe opened his news conference by claiming his comment not knowing who the 6-foot-9 former Bear had been taken out of context and that there would’ve been no confusion had he been asked specific follow-up questions.

“When I left the press conference Monday I didn’t think there would be any confusion,” Grobe said via ESPN. “I thought the basic assumption was that I didn’t know Shawn Oakman. I would not recognize him, I’d never met him before. And to say I don’t know who Shawn Oakman is, does not mean I don’t know the situation, but I don’t him personally. And so I wouldn’t be able to recognize him if he was in our locker room. I thought that was clear, but apparently it wasn’t … Had I recognized him, the situation would have been handled differently, but regardless of that, my comment of ‘I don’t know him’ was taken out of context and the way it was portrayed by some in the media, in my opinion, was unprofessional.”

“Maybe it would have been appropriate to follow up the question with, ‘Do you know that Shawn Oakman played for Baylor?’ Or, ‘Did you know that after his senior season he was charged with a criminal offense?’ To those questions I would have obviously answered yes. I’m very aware of the misconduct issues that impacted this program prior to my arrival and the players involved, but my focus and my priority from the day I arrived have been the actions, of both on and off the field, of the guys who play for me now.”

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Grobe blaming the type of follow-up questions on his comments is incredibly weak. Can you imagine how demeaning it would have looked if he was asked if he knew Oakman played for Baylor? And besides, he was asked a follow-up question anyway. It specifically pertained to Oakman’s presence in the Baylor locker room.

Baylor even took the step of issuing a statement Monday evening after Grobe’s news conference saying that Grobe didn’t realize Oakman was in the locker room and that the former defensive end was “not permitted” at Baylor or in the locker room at future away games.

Grobe could have easily used one of those two Monday questions to show he’s aware of the misconduct issues that impacted Baylor prior to his arrival. Or, as he said Wednesday, to say “I don’t believe it was a good idea for Shawn to be in our locker room, and had I been made aware of the situation in advance, it would not have happened.”

It really shouldn’t be this complicated.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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