Art Briles: 'I did not cover up sexual violence'
Art Briles continues to contend he didn’t help cover up accusations of sexual violence by Baylor football players.
Per the Waco Tribune, Briles issued a statement Wednesday afternoon and said he “can remain silent no longer.
“Let me be clear,” Briles wrote. “I did not cover up sexual violence. I had no contact with anyone that claimed to be a victim of sexual or domestic assault. Anyone well-versed in my work as a coach knows that I strove to promote excellence but never at the sacrifice of safety for anyone. I did not obstruct justice on campus or off.”
Briles’ statement comes as the Texas Rangers have started a preliminary investigation into the way Baylor handled accusations of sexual assault. The school has said it will cooperate fully with authorities.
The statement also includes a plea from Briles for full investigative transparency and that “those feeding this disinformation will stop and full disclosure rather than messaging misdirection will take place.”
In the new statement, Briles said when he was alerted of an alleged assault, his response was that the complainant should go to police. He also said he never knowingly played anyone with a sexual assault allegation against him.
The former Baylor coach was fired in May after an outside investigation revealed how the university had treated allegations of sexual assault by football players. According to court documents filed in a defamation suit by a former administrator at the school, Briles knew about alleged assaults by members of his team.
According to the documents, Briles once questioned why a woman was with “bad dudes” from the team following a gang rape accusation. The contents of the documents came out the same day Briles dropped his defamation suit vs. the school. Briles’ suit, filed in December, alleged he was defamed by regents and a vice president at the school. When the suit was dropped, Briles’ lawyer said the coach wanted “peace” in his life.
The filing also alleges that Briles knew of at least “bits and pieces” of a gang rape investigation involving members of his team. From the filing:
When initially interviewed by Pepper Hamilton, Coach Briles said he recalled only “bits and pieces” of the gang rape allegation. In follow-up interviews, Coach Briles said he did not remember meeting the coach but recalled hearing about the victim because she had been in his office about another incident. Later, Coach Briles, the victim’s coach, and McCaw each blamed a lack of clear University guidelines for not reporting the incident to Judicial Affairs.
In a September ESPN appearance, Briles said he was sorry and that he’d always lived his life in a “righteous manner.” The apology, however, wasn’t for anything specific.
A suit was filed in January alleging that 52 sexual assaults were committed by at least 31 football players from 2011-2014. The same suit also alleges the Baylor coaching staff had a “show ’em a good time” philosophy when it came to recruiting trips, helping foster an environment that led to gang rapes. Regents told the Wall Street Journal last fall that 17 women had accused 19 players of sexual or domestic assaults since 2011.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
