BRILES’ MISGUIDED APOLOGIES
Former Baylor coach’s statements ignore victims’ plight and only address how scandal at school affected him
Idon’t think anyone wants a “hug session” with you, Art Briles. Nice try, though. Yes, Briles said that. During ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday, Briles said in an interview with the network’s Tom Rinaldi that he would want to have a good talk session, then a cry session and then hopefully a hug session if he was in a room of Baylor assault victims.
It was one of many statements he made in the interview that was plugged as an “apology” by the embattled former Baylor coach, and it was one of many statements that felt empty, rehearsed and far from apologetic.
Several Baylor football players during Briles’ time with the team were accused of sexual assault. Two are serving prison sentences, one of whom assaulted multiple women. Briles was terminated along with athletic director Ian McCaw, and university president Kenneth Starr eventually left the school as well.
Eye-opening experience
When I went into an investigation on Baylor University in light of the Pepper Hamilton report over the summer, I didn’t know what to expect. What I found was a university neglectful of those filing sexual assault complaints.
Court documents, police reports and lawsuits that are public record have shed a lot of light on what happened at Baylor to alleged victims over the past decade.
Personal interviews with victims were even more telling, which makes Briles’ latest interview a tough one to swallow.
Briles wasn’t the only problem at Baylor, but he was one of them, a big one.
Briles remained mumon everything until his tour of NFL camps in August, where he posed for pictures with former players and halfheartedly apologized when reporters asked him about what happened at Baylor.
Now this interview — where he was supposed to say something different.
He said the words … “I’m sorry” and “I feel responsibility,” but once again, he didn’t say what he was sorry for or what he takes responsibility for. Try this, Art. I’m sorry I didn’t take any actions against my football players who were raping women.
I’m sorry I didn’t take victims’ claims seriously.
I feel responsibility for Baylor football players being above the law.
That’s a start.
Briles shed a tear, his voice quivered. He wasn’t his usual charming self. He seemed willing to talk, to open up. Rinaldi asked him good questions.
But instead of taking advantage of the situation, instead of coming clean, instead of apologizing, he said things like, “I hate that she feels that way about me,” when Rinaldi read a powerful statement from a victim to him.
It’s not about you, Art. It’s about her. It’s about all of the victims.
Instead of taking actual responsibility for his program being filled with scandal, he went back into denial mode. Rinaldi read him part of the Pepper Hamilton re- port about how the campus was an unsafe environment.
“It’s a strong statement,” Briles said. “It’s open-ended in that there was a risk left for students on campus. I would never allow that to happen under my watch. If I felt like somebody on my team was a threat to the student population, that just wouldn’t happen.”
Well, it did. It happened under his watch, and there are court documents and reports from victims that show it happened repeatedly.
In early August, when Briles visited Texans training camp, he said he had never done anything “illegal, immoral or unethical.” Not disciplining players being investigated for rape is immoral and unethical.
Missed chance at redemption
His interview last week was a chance for him to start fixing his reputation and he didn’t do it. He talked how it hurt him to have his name damaged, about how he didn’t like the way victims felt about him.
He hired an agent this month, he is looking for a job and likely will get one eventually.
But his image and reputation are far from healed. He is putting bandages over bullet wounds and it’s not enough. Briles hasn’t owned up to what happened.
And until he stops thinking about and talking about how this all affected him, nothing he says or does will matter.
It’s about the victims, Art. It’s not about you. Ahug session won’t fix a thing.