Baylor Football

Art Briles' lawyer said Tuesday the former Baylor football head coach will try to get back into coaching.

"There's no question this is one step toward him getting back into coaching," Mark Lanier told Phillip Ericksen of the Waco Tribune-Herald. "He did not want to get back into coaching until he finished through the legal system."

Briles' lawyer was speaking following Jasmin Hernandez's decision to remove Briles and former Baylor athletics director Ian McCaw from a Title IX lawsuit the university ultimately settled with Hernandez.

Lanier added schools have contacted Briles about coaching and that he expects his client to return to the sidelines in the 2018 season. He also said Briles felt "a measure of vindication" after being dropped from the lawsuit.

"He does feel bad for anybody who was hurt at all," Lanier said of Briles. "Whether through Baylor or otherwise, he's still got a soft heart for a victim of any crime at all. He's cognizant of that."

Briles and McCaw had been accused of negligence in Hernandez's suit.

Hernandez was raped by former football player Tevin Elliott in 2012 and became the first of many plaintiffs to file Title IX lawsuits against Baylor in March 2016. Elliott, meanwhile, is serving 20 years in prison. 

Per Ericksen, "Baylor now faces four Title IX lawsuits with 13 plaintiffs. Seven suits had been filed." Two other settlements have already been reached in court and "the school has reached out-of-court settlements with at least three other alleged victims of sexual assault."

Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades said Tuesday there was no internal drug-testing system in place for student-athletes at the school when he was hired last year.

In an appearance on 1660-AM in Waco, Texas (h/t Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News), Rhoades said the following regarding the changes he made upon arriving: 

"When I got to Baylor, we did not test. We did not have any robust program. We implemented it. It was one of the 105 Pepper Hamilton recommendations. Now I can tell you this: that we would have implemented a policy whether or not that was a recommendation. I think that's something that's really important."

Per Carlton, an internal investigation by the Pepper Hamilton law firm discovered there was no testing aside from that implemented by the NCAA and the Big 12.

He added ESPN's Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach wrote in the upcoming book, Violated, that the lack of drug testing was due to fear of players getting dismissed because of Baylor's policy against marijuana use.

Rhoades discussed the importance of now having a policy in place to act as a deterrent:

"We need to do a great job of educating our young people in terms of the dangers of substance abuse and do everything we can that they understand that and know that and also provide them the opportunity for help. But at the same time, if it's something they're going to do, there will be consequences and we'll hold people accountable for that."

The 51-year-old Rhoades previously served as the AD at Akron, Houston and Missouri.

He was hired by Baylor in 2016 after former athletic director Ian McCaw resigned in the midst of a sexual assault scandal involving the football team.

Jasmin Hernandez, a former student at Baylor University, reached a settlement in her Title IX lawsuit with the school, ESPN's Paula Lavigne reported Tuesday.

Hernandez was the victim of a sexual assault in 2012 by former Baylor Bears football player Tevin Elliott. Elliott received a 20-year prison sentence in January 2014.

Lavigne shared a comment from Hernandez's attorney, Alexander Zalkin, about her decision to settle the case.

"You kind of weigh the costs and benefits of continuing, and for her, it reached a point where she felt she could resolve the case and have some closure and move forward," Zalkin said. "It was the right time for her."

Hernandez filed her lawsuit in March 2016, at which point her identity as the victim of the assault was revealed. In the lawsuit, Hernandez claimed she told the Waco Police Department about the assault and spoke with her mother as well, according to the Dallas Morning News' Sue Ambrose and David Tarrant.

Hernandez's mother said the Baylor counseling center and student health center said they were both too full to serve Hernandez. She also said she attempted to contact former head football coach Art Briles, only receiving a call from Briles' secretary to say the Baylor athletic department was "looking into" the allegations.

Hernandez also contended school officials had known about previous allegations against Elliott and failed to act.

In the wake of increased scrutiny of its handling of sexual assault allegations, Baylor commissioned law firm Pepper Hamilton to examine the situation.

Baylor released a findings of fact from Pepper Hamilton in May 2016 in which the firm determined "institutional failures at every level of Baylor's administration directly impacted the response to individual cases and the Baylor community as a whole."

Following the report, Baylor fired Briles and demoted Kenneth Starr from his position as university president. Starr resigned completely from the school in August 2016. Athletic director Ian McCaw resigned in May 2016 as well.

ESPN's Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach report in their upcoming book, Violated, that Baylor University regents were unaware the Baylor Bears athletic program wasn't randomly drug testing student-athletes.

According to Lavigne and Schlabach, those inside the athletic department worried about the consequences of a student testing positive for marijuana, thus opted against random drug testing. Under the school's drug policy, one positive marijuana test could mean a semester-long suspension, and a second positive test could lead to expulsion.

Lavigne and Schlabach noted the NCAA doesn't have requirements for schools regarding random drug testing but that athletic departments are expected to follow whatever policies the school has laid out.

Baylor's lack of random drug testing was discovered by Pepper Hamilton, the law firm Baylor had commissioned to investigate the school's handling of sexual assault allegations.

However, multiple former Baylor players took to Twitter to deny they weren't drug tested during their time at the school:

The university released a findings of fact from Pepper Hamilton in May 2016. The law firm found "institutional failures at every level of Baylor's administration directly impacted the response to individual cases and the Baylor community as a whole."

Regarding the football program and athletic department in particular, Baylor's board of regents wrote Pepper Hamilton uncovered specific problems, "including a failure to identify and respond to a pattern of sexual violence by a football player, to take action in response to reports of a sexual assault by multiple football players, and to take action in response to a report of dating violence."

In the wake of the findings of fact being released, Baylor fired head football coach Art Briles. Former university president Kenneth Starr left the school in August 2016 after having been demoted. Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw resigned in May 2016 as well.

A Texas judge ruled Baylor University must release all information it collected during an investigation into its sexual assault scandal, including data provided to the Pepper Hamilton law firm, which the school hired to review its response to the violence claims.

On Friday, Paula Lavigne of ESPN.com reported the ruling stemmed from one of five Title IX lawsuits Baylor faces in the wake of the scandal.

"Would it be fair to allow Baylor to protect remaining undisclosed details regarding the Pepper Hamilton investigation when it intentionally, publicly, and selectively released certain details of the investigation, including attorney-client communications?" U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman wrote. "The Court concludes, with respect to materials covered by the attorney-client privilege, that it would not."

Phillip Ericksen of the Waco Tribune-Herald provided a statement from the university in response to the judge's order.

"The university appreciates the court's ruling that attorney work product privileges continue to apply in this case," it said. "All of the work product and related materials prepared by Pepper Hamilton is currently protected from discovery, with the provision of the university being required to produce a detailed log of certain work product and to identify witnesses who were interviewed.

"Baylor continues to express concerns regarding the protection of students' personal records, specifically the desire of many students—who are unrelated to this case—that their identities remain anonymous and their information confidential."

Matthew Watkins of the Texas Tribune noted the ruling doesn't mean the documents will be made publicly available, however, adding Baylor has "vigorously fought" to keep the information private.

In May 2016, the Baylor Board of Regents announced widespread leadership changes after reviewing the findings made by Pepper Hamilton. President Ken Starr, athletic director Ian McCaw and head football coach Art Briles all ended up leaving the school in the months that followed.

"We were horrified by the extent of these acts of sexual violence on our campus. This investigation revealed the University's mishandling of reports in what should have been a supportive, responsive and caring environment for students," Board of Regents chair Richard Willis said. "The depth to which these acts occurred shocked and outraged us. Our students and their families deserve more, and we have committed our full attention to improving our processes, establishing accountability and ensuring appropriate actions are taken to support former, current and future students."

In January, Sarah Mervosh of the Dallas Morning News reported a lawsuit filed by a Baylor graduate alleged "at least 52 acts of rape, including five gang rapes, between 2011 and 2014" by 31 football players. Baylor officials declined to comment on the accuracy of those figures.

Baylor Bears defensive back Travon Blanchard was arrested and charged with assault family violence on Tuesday stemming from an alleged incident that occurred with his ex-girlfriend in February.

According to KWTX's Rissa Shaw and John Carroll, Blanchard posted $6,000 bond and was released from jail Tuesday evening.

Blanchard was previously ordered to stay away from the woman's residence and avoid communication after he was accused of "multiple acts of violence" against her.

"Travon Blanchard was suspended from all team activities immediately after learning of allegations made against him in February," the school said in a statement, per KWTX. "That status has not changed and he has had no involvement with the program since that time. The university is aware of the arrest made today in connection with the previous allegations against Blanchard and will monitor the developments of this charge for any additional decision regarding his affiliation as a student-athlete."

On Tuesday, Baylor head coach Matt Rhule addressed Blanchard's status with the program in advance of the 2017 season.

"Travon's been suspended since the very first day we heard about that incident," Rhule said, according to the Dallas Morning News' Adam Grosbard. "That's kind of our policy, suspended until university inquiry and anything legal happens. So there's really been no change in his status."

Baylor University agreed to a settlement Thursday with a woman who sued the university after an alleged sexual assault. 

The unnamed woman was one of several who filed a lawsuit in federal court against the university, according to Jim Vertuno of the Associated Press. Vertuno wrote the women allege the school "ignored or mishandled sexual assault investigations for years."

The woman in the settled case "said in 2015 she was drugged and abducted from an off-campus residence where Baylor officials had received previous reports of assaults," per Vertuno.

The school has an extensive history of sexual assault allegations, including a reported 17 cases brought against 19 different Baylor student-athletes since 2011.

In May of this year, a student said she was gang raped by several members of the football team. 

The alleged assaults and a lack of institutional control led to the removal of both football head coach Art Briles and school president Ken Starr. 

No details or terms of the settlement agreement have been released.

Lawyers representing Baylor University confirmed the school is under an NCAA investigation as a result of the sexual assault scandal that played a role in Art Briles' firing as the head football coach.

According to the Associated Press (via USA Today), the lawyers described "an ongoing, pending investigation" by the NCAA as part of a legal filing in a federal court. 

In May 2016, Baylor released a findings of fact document compiled by law firm Pepper Hamilton, who had investigated whether the school failed to properly handle accusations of sexual assault committed by members of the football team.

In announcing it planned to fire Briles, Baylor's Board of Regents wrote that Pepper Hamilton "found specific failings within both the football program and Athletics department leadership, including a failure to identify and respond to a pattern of sexual violence by a football player and to a report of dating violence."

ESPN.com's Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach reported in February the NCAA's enforcement staff had conducted interviews as part of a preliminary investigation into whether the school had committed any NCAA rule infractions.

Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples wrote in May the situation was somewhat tricky for the NCAA since Baylor's violations didn't center on something specifically within the NCAA's purview, such as recruiting or improper benefits.

According to the AP's Jim Vertuno (via ABC News), Baylor was in federal court to ask a judge to limit the amount of information it must reveal regarding the NCAA investigation. 

A U.S. district judge ruled in March victims of sexual assault at Baylor have until 2018 to determine whether they'll continue pursuing a Title IX lawsuit against the school.

The lawyers for former Baylor defensive lineman Shawn Oakman are withdrawing from his sexual assault case after they weren't paid for their services. 

Per Tommy Witherspoon of the Waco Tribune, attorneys Russ Hunt and Michelle Tuegel filed a motion to withdraw from Oakman's case because he "has not paid them."

The Associated Press reported in April 2016 that Oakman was being investigated by Texas police officers after a woman made sexual assault allegations against the former Baylor football player. 

Oakman entered a not guilty plea last August. 

Per Witherspoon, Oakman's trial is currently scheduled to begin on August 22 but "court officials said his trial likely will be postponed."

Oakman played three years at Baylor from 2013-15 after being dismissed from Penn State in 2012 for an unspecified violation of team rules. 

Guy Morriss, a former NFL player who also served as the head coach at Baylor and Kentucky, told WKYT that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

"At first I couldn't write my name," Morriss said. "I could not write my name. I didn't know my ABCs. I couldn't do that little rhyme."

He continued, "You wake up one day...everything connects. Next time, you get out of bed. ... It's just a day at a time."

Morriss has tackled his treatment and therapy in the same way he approached his career, however.

"Guy takes it home with him. So if he doesn't perform up to his standards on one particular task, he will go home and practice as though he was in a game," Dr. Greg Jicha told WKYT. "He can see that there's difficulty, and he works at it. He practices. And that's incredibly good for his brain."

Despite putting that work in, however, Morriss has accepted that his prognosis came with a bleak outlook.

"We've all kind of accepted it. Everybody knows what we're dealing with," he said. "The prognosis of beating it is not gonna be there for me."'

Morriss spent two seasons (2001-02) as the head coach at Kentucky and five seasons (2004-08) at Baylor. His NFL playing career included stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, and he was an NFL assistant coach for the Patriots and Arizona Cardinals. He also spent time coaching at Valdosta State and Mississippi State.