New Baylor football lawsuit alleges 52 rapes by 31 players over four-year span
A new lawsuit filed by a victim against Baylor University alleges 52 rapes by 31 different football players over a four year period, the Dallas Morning News reports.
A women identified as Elizabeth Doe reported being gang raped by former Baylor players Tre’Von Armstead and Shamycheal Chatman in April 2013 after a party. The two players were named as suspects in a police report, but never charged. Doe is suing the university for Title IX violations and negligence, filing on Friday.
The lawsuit includes the staggering number of cases from 2011–2014, an estimate well beyond a number that school regents presented in the past. In October, officials told the Wall Street Journal that they were aware of 17 assaults by 19 different players.
Then-assistant coach Kendall Briles, son of then-head coach Art Briles, is quoted as using the promise of women as a recruiting tool for athletes.
The lawsuit describes a culture of sexual violence within Baylor's athletics, in which the school implemented a "show 'em a good time" policy that "used sex to sell" the football program to recruits. A Dallas-area high school athlete, according to the suit, said former assistant coach Kendall Briles once asked him, "Do you like white women? Because we have a lot of them at Baylor and they love football players."
Doe says Chatman was accused of a previous rape involving a student athletic trainer that the school covered up by paying for her education in exchange for a non-disclosure pact. Her lawsuit also states that at least two of five alleged gang rapes were committed by 10 or more players at one time.
