Report: Baylor could change presidents in wake of allegations
Could Baylor be making a change near the top of its administration?
According to HornsDigest.com, the Baylor board of regents “is expected to remove” university president Ken Starr by the end of the month. Starr’s ouster would be as a result of the school’s response and actions following a series of allegations against football players in recent years.
The school recently hired an outside law firm to look at its responses to sexual assault accusations against football players. A woman who said she was assaulted by former player Tevin Elliott – currently serving 20 years in prison after he was convicted of rape – filed a suit against the school alleging indifference towards her allegations.
The three dozen members of the Baylor regents board are preparing to blame Starr – not football coach Art Briles – for failed leadership during the ongoing scandal over how the school handled reports of rape and assault made against five BU football players – two of whom (Tevin Elliott and Sam Ukwuachu) were convicted of raping Baylor co-eds, sources close to the situation told HornsDigest.com.
Starr, a former United States Solicitor General in the George H. Bush administration, has been Baylor’s president since June 2010. He is most widely known for his investigation into former president Bill Clinton.
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Ukwuachu was convicted of sexual assault last summer and Briles repeatedly said the school did its due diligence regarding Ukwuachu’s history at his previous school, Boise State. Ukwuachu never played a down for Baylor and the rape accusations against him only became known until just months before his trial.
A report last week from ESPN’s Outside the Lines noted instances where police had taken steps to hide accusations against football players from public view.
Former Baylor defensive end Shawn Oakman was arrested on accusations of sexual assault in April. He allegedly was accused of shoving a woman into walls of his apartment during a dispute in 2013 but a spokesperson for the Waco Police Department said there was no indication Baylor was told about the 2013 incident.
Per HD, regents chairman Richard Willis is leading a move to remove Starr from his post.
Willis has said the regents board was briefed on the law firm’s findings but it could be “several weeks” before the regents make any final conclusions. That’s because regents want to ask their own questions, Willis said.
Sources said Briles, who has revived a moribund football program by winning at least 10 games in four of the past five years, including two Big 12 titles and a Heisman Trophy (Robert Griffin III in 2011), will continue as football coach, barring any evidence turning up that Briles was engaged in a coverup.
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]Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
