Baylor Football

A former Baylor volleyball player who said she was gang-raped by Baylor football players filed a Title IX lawsuit against the school Wednesday.

According to ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach, the woman said she was raped by at least four and as many as eight Baylor football players.

Per Jim Vertuno of the Associated Press, the latest Title IX lawsuit against Baylor alleges that football players made a 21-second gang rape video and staged dog fights.

According to KXXV-TV in Waco, Texas, the alleged rape occurred in February 2012.

The lawsuit states that Baylor "permitted a campus condition rife with sexual assault and completely lacking the basic standards of support for victims as required by federal and state law."

It is alleged in the lawsuit that football players engaged in gang rapes as bonding experiences after drugging women, and that there is at least one video of two female students being gang-raped by football players.

Baylor released a statement Wednesday in response to the lawsuit, as provided by Phillip Ericksen of the Waco Tribune-Herald:

The plaintiff's lawyer, Muhammad Aziz, also commented on the decision to file the suit, per Ericksen:

"These girls affected by this are seeking their day in court. We thought about this a lot, and me and my client thought about it and discussed it. Eventually, we decided to proceed. Really, what we are seeking to enforce is just a safe education environment for the girls at the school."

Schlabach added that Baylor is facing seven Title IX lawsuits involving 15 women.

Reporter Bruce Feldman cited a source who said the latest allegations "were well known around the BU athletic [department] at the time and among BU female athletes."

In November, Schlabach and Paula Lavigne reported that Baylor issued a statement regarding an alleged gang rape, reportedly involving a volleyball player.

According to the statement, some athletic department officials and coaches were told about the allegation but didn't report it to judicial affairs, though the coaches refuted this.

Baylor head football coach Art Briles was fired in the wake of the sexual assault allegations against football players last year, while school president Ken Starr and athletic director Ian McCaw left their positions as well.

Former Tennessee Volunteers running back Jalen Hurd announced Saturday that he will transfer to Baylor.

Hurd made the news official with the following tweet:

Next chapter. pic.twitter.com/DbdDqP14EY

— Jalen Hurd (@MrHurd_1) April 22, 2017

The Hendersonville, Tennessee, native rushed for 451 yards and three touchdowns to go with 81 receiving yards and two touchdowns for the Vols last season.

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports reported Hurd will play receiver with the Bears.

Hurd announced his intention to transfer in October.

In a tweet that has since been deleted, Hurd explained his decision in November.

According to Jon Garcia of The Tennessean, Hurd said he suffered "multiple injuries this year that were not and should not have been disclosed," and that offensive adjustments to suit his strengths "did not happen on a consistent enough basis."

BR Video

While Hurd struggled in 2016, he was a key contributor for the Vols in 2015 with 1,285 rushing yards and 14 offensive touchdowns.

Hurd will join a Baylor team that lost No. 1 receiver KD Cannon to the NFL draft. However, Hurd will not be available until 2018, as he must sit out one year before completing his senior campaign with the Bears.

For more news, rumors and related stories about Jalen Hurd, the Baylor Bears, the Tennessee Volunteers and college football, check out the college football, Baylor football and Tennessee football streams on Bleacher Report's app.

A Texas federal judge has ruled former Baylor head coach Art Briles can stand trial for negligence. 

Per ESPN's Mark Schlabach, the ruling stems from claims made against Briles "by a former female student who was raped by football player Tevin Elliott in 2012."

United States District Judge Robert Pitman ruled Jasmin Hernandez will be allowed to proceed with her "Title IX and negligence claims against Baylor University and her negligence claim" against Briles and former Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw.

Pitman wrote in his ruling that "'disturbing' is an apt descriptor for allegations that (Briles and McCaw) put the interests of the football team or the reputation of the university ahead of other students' interest in not being sexually assaulted, ultimately leading to Plaintiff's own sexual assault by Elliott."

In 2014, Elliott was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined $10,000 for two counts of sexually assaulting a former Baylor student two years earlier. 

Briles spent eight years as head football coach at Baylor before the two sides reached a settlement in 2016 to terminate his contract. 

Former Baylor University head football coach Art Briles confirmed he wants another coaching job after getting dismissed by the Bears program amid the school's sexual assault scandal.

Joseph Goodman of AL.com passed along comments Briles made Friday during an appearance at the Birmingham Football Coaching Clinic. He wants to "be able to do what I've done all my life again, which is coach football and be around young people and help young people."

The 61-year-old Texas native doesn't have an exact timetable for getting back on the sideline. He's trying to make sure all of those who worked alongside him at Baylor land on their feet before looking toward his own options for next season and beyond.

"It just didn't affect me," Briles said. "It affected numerous office personnel, strength staff and all the coaches. My main focus, honestly, this year has been to make sure they can continue doing what they love doing and provide for their families. So, that's where I've been."

Briles said but he's still analyzing the next step he should take, per AL.com.

"It might be as a volunteer, or it might be as a consultant," he said. "There are a lot of different opportunities, but we'll just have to see if that's what it leads to. This is the first time in my life that I've ever been open and free because I started coaching before I graduated college."

Baylor announced a series of leadership changes in May 2016 after the school's Board of Regents stated it was "horrified by the extent of these acts of sexual violence on our campus" following an investigation into the issue, which led to Briles' exit.

In February, the former coach dropped a libel lawsuit against university officials after he'd accused them of falsely stating he knew about and failed to report information about sexual misconduct.

The decision came days after a Baylor University graduate filed a lawsuit alleging she was raped by football players in 2013. Sarah Mervosh of the Dallas Morning News noted documents filed in the case claimed "31 Baylor football players committed at least 52 acts of rape, including five gang rapes, between 2011 and 2014."

Briles was the head coach at Baylor from November 2007 through May 2016. He previously held the same position at the University of Houston after more than two decades in various coaching positions at the high school and collegiate levels.

Baylor University filed a motion Tuesday to dismiss a Title IX lawsuit that was filed against the school in January, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald's Phillip Ericksen.

Ericksen reported Baylor "said the plaintiff's allegations are barred by a two-year statute of limitations" and that her allegations did not meet the standard of "deliberate indifference."

The lawsuit was filed anonymously by a plaintiff listed as "Elizabeth Doe."

According to the Dallas Morning News' Sarah Mervosh, Doe—who said she was gang-raped in April 2013 by football players Tre'Von Armstead and Shamycheal Chatman—also alleged "31 Baylor football players committed at least 52 acts of rape, including five gang rapes, between 2011 and 2014."

Those figures far outnumbered the ones relayed by Baylor regents in October 2016. According to the Wall Street Journal's Brad Reagan, regents said 17 women reported allegations of sexual or domestic assault, including four gang rapes, that involved 19 members of the football team.

In her lawsuit, Doe alleged the football program embraced a "show 'em a good time" approach that "used sex to sell" the program to recruits, per Mervosh.

The school refuted those allegations in its filing Tuesday.    

"Baylor does not agree with or concede the accuracy of plaintiff's 146-paragraph complaint and its immaterial and inflammatory assertions," it stated, per Ericksen.

Former Baylor Bears linebacker Myke Chatman was arrested Thursday in Houston, Texas, in relation to the alleged 2013 sexual assault of a female student at the school, according to the Dallas Morning News' Sarah Mervosh. 

ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach confirmed Chatman, 23, was arrested for his role in the alleged assault. 

Chatman's arrest comes a day after former Baylor tight end Tre'von Armstead was arrested in relation to the alleged gang rape, per Mervosh. 

McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna said the two were arrested because of "newly discovered evidence and continued investigation," according to Mervosh. 

The alleged 2013 assault is one component of a sweeping lawsuit that was brought against Baylor in January. 

The lawsuit, which was filed by an anonymous former Baylor student listed as Jane Doe, alleges "31 Baylor football players committed at least 52 acts of rape, including five gang rapes, between 2011 and 2014," per Mervosh. 

Specifically, Doe said she was raped by Armstead and Chatman following a party on April 18, 2013. 

The 2015 sexual assault conviction of former Baylor football player Samuel Ukwuachu was overturned Thursday by the 10th Court of Appeals.

According to KWTX, questions regarding the validity of evidence used to convict Ukwuachu played a role in the decision. Ukwuachu will now receive a new trial in district court.

As part of the appeal, defense attorneys argued that the times attached to Ukwuachu's cellphone records—specifically with regard to correspondence between Ukwuachu and his roommate—were incorrect.

Per KWTX, the ruling handed down Thursday pointed toward that issue as the deciding factor:

In six issues, Ukwuachu complains that the trial court erred by allowing the State to reference the cell phone records of his roommate during its cross-examination of his roommate and his roommate's friend, that the indictment was defective, that evidence of an extraneous offense was improperly admitted, that his due process rights were violated due to an abuse of the grand jury process by the State, and that text messages between the victim and a friend of hers the night of the alleged offense were improperly excluded.

[...]

Because we find that the trial court erred by disallowing the admission of evidence ... we reverse the judgment of conviction and remand this proceeding for a new trial.

Following Ukwuachu's conviction on one count of sexual assault against a former Baylor women's soccer player, he was sentenced to 180 days in jail, 10 years probation and 400 hours of community service.

Ukwuachu played one season at Boise State before being dismissed for undisclosed reasons, and he never appeared in a game at Baylor.

Former Baylor tight end Tre'Von Armstead was arrested Wednesday in Waco, Texas on a sexual assault warrant, according to Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office told Lavigne and Schlabach Armstead is being held on $150,000 bond and the arrest warrant originated from McLennan County, Texas.

He was also arrested on March 13 after he allegedly "pushed a woman, resisted arrest and kicked the back windshield out of a police car."

Armstead was dismissed from the team in 2015 and was one of the players accused of the rape of a female Baylor student in 2013. Charges were never filed in that case.

Armstead was projected to be the team's starting tight end in 2015 before he was dismissed from the program in Week 2.

Former Baylor football player Tre'Von Armstead was reportedly arrested in Las Vegas Monday.

TMZ Sports first reported the arrest, noting Armstead kicked out the back window of a police car.

Patrick Redford of Deadspin wrote Armstead was "charged with first-degree domestic battery, resisting arrest and damaging a police vehicle." Redford cited a Las Vegas police spokesperson who said police saw Armstead push a woman, which prompted the arrest he resisted.

He then allegedly kicked the window when he was placed in the police car.

TMZ Sports pointed out Armstead was named in a rape investigation in 2013, although the school didn't dismiss him from the football team until 2015 for a "violation of team rules."

Redford added more details:

Waco police investigated the allegations in 2013, but the school didn't begin an investigation of their own until 2015. Armstead was later kicked off the team for an ambiguous "violation of team rules," and the sexual assault investigation only became public last year after ESPN's Outside The Lines reported on Armstead's dismissal.

Armstead was part of a larger sexual assault scandal that led to former head coach Art Briles' dismissal. In May, Baylor passed along findings of fact from law firm Pepper Hamilton's investigation, which showed the school failed to follow Title IX legislation by not properly investigating sexual assault allegations against football players.

The consistent stream of negative headlines involving Baylor's football program extended beyond Armstead on Sunday, as KWTX 10 in Waco, Texas, reported associate director for football operations DeMarkco Butler was fired for sending inappropriate text messages to a teenager.

On Monday, KWTX 10 in Waco, Texas, reported Baylor dismissed associate director for football operations DeMarkco Butler for sending inappropriate text messages to a teenager.

The report noted a school official said the texts were sent to someone who was considered an adult under Texas statute.

Kevin McGuire of NBC Sports confirmed the news and noted Butler was hired last month.

According to KWTX 10, Butler is the second person Baylor has fired who was hired under head football coach Matt Rhule's tenure. Assistant strength coach Brandon Washington was fired following his arrest in a prostitution sting in February.

Butler's dismissal is the latest chapter for a university and football program enveloped in controversy.

The school shared findings of fact from law firm Pepper Hamilton's investigation in May that found Baylor did not follow Title IX legislation, failing to adequately investigate sexual assault allegations made against football players.

That investigation led to the firing of then head football coach Art Briles.

What's more, Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle reported in February Baylor officials had documentation saying Briles and former athletic director Ian McCaw knew of different infractions by football players and attempted to cover them up.