Lawsuit Against Baylor Alleges Football Players Committed 52 Rapes In 3 Years

WACO, TX — A lawsuit filed against Baylor University alleges that 31 football players committed rape more than 50 times, including five gang rapes between 2011-2014 — an estimate far exceeding a number provided by school regents in the ongoing campus scandal, according to a published report.

The Dallas Morning News reported the lawsuit by a woman identified only as "Elizabeth Doe" claims she was brutally gang raped by former Baylor football players Tre Von Armstead and Shamycheal Chatman after a party in April 2013.

The same football players emerged as suspects in a police report about a rape on the same date, but the athletes were never formally charged, the newspaper reported. The woman has since sued the university for Title IX violations and negligence.

In the 26-page lawsuit, the woman noted Chatman was accused of rape once before but the university failed to act. In that case, a student athletic trainer reported Chatman had raped her at his off-campus apartment, prompting the university to move the trainer to a women's sports team and agreeing to pay for her education after extracting a non-disclosure agreement from her.

The suit paints a culture replete with sexual violence at Baylor University as part of a "show 'em a good time" attitude that "used sex to sell" the football program to potential recruits. The lawsuit alleges that a Dallas-area high school athlete was asked by former assistant coach Kendall Briles, "Do you like white women? Because we have a lot of them at Baylor, and they love football players."

A lawyers' investigation is said to have documented at least 52 "acts of rape," including the aforementioned gang rapes, by 31 players from 2011-14. The suit further alleges that at least two of the gang rapes were committed by 10 or more players at a time.

Those numbers far exceed figures Baylor University officials provided following an investigation by the Pennsylvania-based law firm Pepper Hamilton into how the university handled sexual assaults, the Morning News reported. Regents told the Wall Street Journal in October they were aware of 17 women reporting sexual or domestic assaults involving 19 players, including four alleged gang rapes, since 2011, the Morning News reported.

Patch attempted to reach Lori Fogleman, Baylor University assistant vice president for media communications, for comment but she was unavailable. By Friday evening, Baylor's interim President DAvid Garland issued a statement in response to the newly filed suit.

"Any assault involving members of our campus community is reprehensible and inexcusable," he said in a prepared statement. Baylor University has taken unprecedented actions that have been well-documented in response to the issue of past and alleged sexual assaults involving our campus community. We have made great progress in implementing 105 recommendations to strengthen the safety and security of all students and restore faith in the university. Baylor has made a strong commitment to a values-driven culture in accordance with our Christian mission.”

>>> Read the full story at Dallas Morning News

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