Victims say report is a painful reminder of ordeals.

Three women who said they were victims of sexual violence at Baylor said the university’s admission that it failed to properly handle cases of sexual assault on campus was a painful reminder of their ordeals but offered a small measure of hope.

Stefanie Mundhenk, who in February wrote a blog post about Baylor’s inadequate response to her account of rape by a fellow Baylor honors student, reflected the somber nature of the day’s events.

“There is no celebration on my end. Just grieving and mourning,” she said. “I never wanted to be right. At times, I lost faith that I was. I am thankful that the truth has finally come out.”

The Baylor Board of Regents removed Kenneth Starr as president and announced it will fire football coach Art Briles as the school moved to take action after reviewing the results of an investigation by a law firm.

Mundhenk, who included her name on a blog post about her experiences at Baylor and thus is identified by name in the Chronicle, was particularly critical of Starr in her lengthy account of Baylor’s handling of her case.

“I desperately love Baylor University, but I still had to leave the tree-lighting ceremony at Christmas on 5th during the prayer because I couldn’t stomach hearing the president of the university that told me I didn’t matter pray to the God I love,” she wrote.

A second woman, a Baylor graduate who asked not to be identified, said Thursday’s report revives painful memories of her ordeal.

“It’s bittersweet,” said the woman, who said she was assaulted by an athlete. “It’s good to see Baylor reacting and trying to do something, but it’s also really tough to have to think about what I went through. I don’t know everyone else’s experience, but I reported sexual assault and was sent for counseling by the university. While that was helpful, it wasn’t enough.”

Asked if she had read a 13-page summary of a study commissioned by Baylor and conducted by the Philadelphia law firm Pepper Hamilton, the woman said, “No. I haven’t. I’m not sure if I will.”

Also Thursday, Jasmin Hernandez, a former Baylor student who has filed a lawsuit against Baylor stemming from a sexual assault by football player Tevin Elliot, told ESPN she did not expect Baylor to take action in the larger question of sexual assaults on campus.

“I’d have to say that I’m very surprised that Baylor is taking action to this level,” she said. “It seems completely out of the ordinary for all the consistency they have shown through the years to act as minimally as possible.”

Regarding Briles’ dismissal, she said, “I thought that they would reroute guilt or blame to someone else.”

Donna Lopiano, a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame who was formerly women’s athletic director at the University of Texas and executive director of the Women’s Sports Foundation, said the summary of the report reveals “a case of mismanagement, of ethical misconduct, of a lot of people asleep at the wheel.”

“This reflects a serious cultural problem at a lot of institutions, especially Football Bowl Subdivision institutions where there is so much money at stake,” she said. “It’s a wakeup call that nobody is going to fly under the radar when it comes to sexual harassment.”