Sports

Bombshell lawsuit accuses Baylor football program of 52 ‘acts of rape’ and of paying student’s tuition in exchange for silence

baylorTony Gutierrez/AP

A graduate of Baylor who claims she was raped by two football players in 2013 sued the university on Friday, according to a report from the Dallas Morning News.

The report says the bombshell lawsuit details a “culture of sexual violence” in the football program, alleging the school used a “show ’em a good time” policy to recruit players.

The lawsuit alleges that 31 football players committed “52 acts of rape,” including five gang rapes, between 2011 and 2014.

The woman, identified as Elizabeth Doe in the suit, claims she was raped by former football players Tre’Von Armstead and Shamycheal Chatman after a party in April 2013. The two men were named as suspects in a police report,The Dallas Morning News reported, but were never charged.

According to the report, the woman claims Chatman was also accused of raping a student athletic trainer, but she says the university did not take action. The lawsuit alleges that the trainer was moved to a female sports team and the university paid her tuition in exchange for silence.

According to the lawsuit, a Dallas-area high school student said former assistant coach Kendall Briles, son of former head coach Art Briles, asked him, “Do you like white women? Because we have a lot of them at Baylor and they love football players.”

Kendall Briles was hired as an offensive coordinator by Florida Atlantic University last month.

According to the Morning News, the figures contrast the findings of the independent investigation done by the law firm Pepper Hamilton and the figures provided by school officials. Pepper Hamilton released a 13-page report of their investigation, finding that Baylor failed to hold the football team accountable and discouraged victims from filing complaints.

The Wall Street Journal reported in October that regents said Art Briles was aware of at least one reported incident of sexual assault, but failed to notify the school. Briles was fired in May 2016.

Baylor University declined to comment on the Dallas Morning News report or the lawsuit.

Baylor University didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Read the Dallas Morning News report here >

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