WACO, Texas (CN) – A former student-athlete claims she was brutally gang-raped by at least four Baylor University football players because the school ignored reports of sexual assault, in addition to other athlete behavior like dog fighting.
Jane Doe sued Baylor in Waco federal court on Tuesday, alleging Title IX violations.
Doe was a student-athlete on Baylor women’s volleyball team from 2011 to 2013. She blames her alleged rape on the university’s indifferent attitude towards student-on-student sexual assault.
“Prior to plaintiff’s arrival at Baylor, Baylor officials permitted a campus condition rife with sexual assault and completely lacking the basic standards of support for victims as required by federal and state law,” the lawsuit says.
The complaint alleges that Baylor football’s recruiting practices under head coach Art Briles resulted in the widespread culture of sexual violence at the university.
Before Briles came to Baylor in 2008, the school had one of the worst football teams in the Big 12 Conference. But under Briles, who is not a defendant in the lawsuit, the team evolved into a national title contender.
The complaint says the sudden success turned Baylor football players into celebrities on campus, with then-President and Chancellor Kenneth Starr calling it Baylor’s “Golden Era.”
Baylor football staff allegedly used sex to sell the program to potential recruits through a so-called “show ‘em a good time” policy, Doe’s lawsuit claims. This allegedy meant that Baylor football players could engage in unrestricted behavior without consequences.
Doe says such behavior included: players arranging for women, alcohol and illegal drugs for parties when recruits were in town; taking underage recruits to bars and strip clubs; and paying for off-campus football parties, where gang rapes of women by players allegedly occurred.
The university also used its female hostess program, called the Baylor Bruins, to recruit players, Doe says.
“Though the Bruins had an official policy of no sexual contact with the recruits or football players, Baylor had an unofficial policy of looking the other way when there was sexual intercourse between the Bruins and the football players,” the complaint says.
Doe says the lure of sex to Baylor recruits “directly contributed to the creation of a culture of sexual violence that permeated Baylor and its football program.”
She also blames Briles and other members of the Baylor football program for enabling a culture in which she says players were “above the law.”
“In several instances when football coaches were alerted to player’s misconduct—whether it be rape, dating violence, physical assault, or burglary—the coaches did nothing to investigate the accusations to determine whether their players were responsible,” the complaint states.
According to the lawsuit, the atmosphere of sexual violence at Baylor was likewise encouraged by hazing rituals at football players’ house parties. Gang rapes that occurred at such parties were considered a “bonding” experience for the players, Doe alleges.