Baylor Alumni Urge School to Rethink Firing of Art Briles
By Brad Reagan And Rebecca Davis O’brien
A small group of powerful Baylor University alumni are pushing the school to reconsider its plan to fire football coach Art Briles, a move that threatens to inflame the controversy over the Baptist school’s handling of sexual violence on campus. The issue was discussed Monday night in a teleconference between members of the Baylor board of regents but no action was taken, according to people familiar with the matter. Based in Waco, Texas, Baylor three weeks ago forced out its president, Kenneth Starr, and suspended Briles in response to an outside law firm’s report concluding that the school turned a blind eye to sexual assaults and other incidents involving members of the football team. The board’s actions drew national attention because they implicated Starr, whose prosecution of former President Bill Clinton led to his impeachment, and Briles, a beloved figure among many alumni for revitalizing the football program. Baylor won 10 games last year, marking the first time in the school’s history that it posted double-digit wins in three consecutive seasons. Two Baylor football players were convicted of sexual assaults while Briles was coach, and media reports have described a number of other incidents involving players, with victims alleging that school officials reacted with indifference to their stories. Baylor asked the Philadelphia law firm Pepper Hamilton to conduct a review of its handling of the sexual assault cases last year. In a summary of the findings released by Baylor on May 26, the school cited a “lack of strong institutional management and control on a number of levels” but didn’t specify any actions by Briles personally.
Briles was not immediately fired but rather the school said he was “suspended indefinitely with intent to terminate according to contractual procedures.” The terms of the contract are likely important since Briles, who signed a 10-year extension in 2013 paying him more than $4 million annually, could be owed tens of millions of dollars in a settlement depending on the conditions of his departure. Now some alumni are worried about a rush to judgment, at least regarding Briles. “There are concerns about Coach Briles being fired without due cause,” said Gale Galloway, a Baylor alumnus and former chairman of the board of regents. Galloway, an Austin businessman, said he was among a number of prominent alumni concerned about Baylor’s handling of the situation, adding that he believes Briles should be reinstated as head coach for the 2017 season, after a one-year suspension. The players, he said, deserved a “man of high quality like Coach Briles.” Baylor is among a number of schools to face legal scrutiny and public outrage over the handling of sexual-assault cases, particularly those involving athletes. Most recently, the sentencing earlier this month of a former Stanford University student—a competitive swimmer—convicted of sexual assault set off protests and calls for the recall of a California judge. A Baylor spokeswoman said the school’s board of regents met Monday night “to discuss a variety of matters.” She added that “there was no vote regarding the employment status of Art Briles.” Briles couldn’t be reached for comment.
Several alumni who have been big donors to Baylor are the instigators behind the campaign, asking the school’s board to release more details from the law firm’s findings, according to people familiar with the matter. Those alumni include Jim Turner, the former chairman of Dr. Pepper Bottling Co.; Drayton McLane, the former owner of the Houston Astros baseball team; Bob Simpson, an oil-and-gas executive who is a co-owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team; and trial lawyer John Eddie Williams, according to people familiar with the matter. The men, all of whom didn’t respond to requests for comment, have combined to donate tens of millions of dollars to Baylor’s athletic program in recent years. The football stadium is named after McLane, while the field itself is named after Williams. The names of Turner and Simpson are attached to other athletic facilities on campus. In a brief interview with the Dallas Morning News on Monday, Simpson said of the possibility that Briles could return: “We’d like to see that.” Baylor appointed former Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe as its acting football coach last month. The contracts for most college football coaches include a so-called morals clause, giving schools the legal authority to void future payments if the conditions are breached. In some cases, for example, schools can invoke the morals clause if a coach brings “disrepute” on the institution. “If that is what the contract said, there is at least an argument that [Briles] violated that,” says Brian Socolow, partner and head of the sports practice at Loeb & Loeb, a law firm in New York. Socolow said the language in such clauses can vary, and that it is possible Baylor might not be able to use that tactic to escape a big settlement with Briles if the school doesn’t have evidence that he actively participated in any immoral activity or a coverup of any sort.
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