Written by the AP at New York Times.com
The Canadian Football League and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats capped a confusing night on Monday by announcing that Art Briles, former Baylor football coach, would not be joining the team as an assistant after all.
Less than 12 hours after the Tiger-Cats announced that Briles would be joining Coach June Jones’s staff as assistant head coach of offense, the league and team responded to public backlash and let Briles go.
Briles, 61, was fired in May 2016 by Baylor after an investigation by a law firm found that over several years, the university mishandled numerous sexual assault allegations, including some against football players. The review by the firm, Pepper Hamilton, also led to the departures of Baylor’s president, Kenneth Starr, and Athletic Director Ian McCaw.
Baylor, the world’s largest Baptist university, has settled at least two Title IX lawsuits, and this month reached a deal with the former student Jasmin Hernandez. She was the first of several women to file federal Title IX lawsuits against the university, which had previously settled with three women who had not sued.
Art Briles getting another football job is gross. Getting it in Canada makes me feel gross. Ew.
— Faizal Khamisa (@SNFaizalKhamisa) August 28, 2017
The Big 12 Conference is withholding revenue from the university until an independent audit shows the university is carrying out dozens of measures recommended by Pepper Hamilton.
The hiring of Briles sparked criticism on social media, including a Twitter post by Theo Fleury, a former N.H.L. star who was sexually abused by his junior coach.
.@Ticats Admittedly, not as catchy as “Diversity Is Strength,” but why don’t you guys wear these shirts for Art Briles’ first #CFL game? pic.twitter.com/aEjkw3CzN7
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) August 28, 2017
“If you knew and didn’t say anything then you are just as much a part of rape as the people who committed rape. Shame on #CFL,” Fleury tweeted.
Others had urged the C.F.L.’s commissioner, Randy Ambrosie, to void the hiring of Briles. But Scott Mitchell, the team’s chief executive, told 3DownNation, a football blog, that the owner Bob Young and the C.F.L. were aware of Hamilton’s intention to hire Briles and that the league had no intention of rescinding the move. But that position apparently changed later in the day.
Randy Ambrosie showing real commissioner leadership. Art Briles is NOT going to be coaching the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Just announced.
— Terry Jones (@byterryjones) August 29, 2017
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